Forget Me Not
by don't feed the models
Summary: Chaos ensues when a prestigious all-girls school merges with an all-boys school considered a complete hellhole. It's an opportunity for unlikely new friendships and romance, though the latter might come in many unexpected, though not unwelcome, forms. SasuSaku. NaruHina. Other pairings.
1. Chapter 1

**So this is a new fic and I've got a lot of ideas floating around on where it will go. It's obviously in a High School AU setting but I'll try to avoid the clichés that are inherent in High School AUs. The rating may be subject to change (for sexytiems of course) ;)**

**NOTE as of 03/02/2012: The first part of the story is the product of my early-teen mind, so the earlier chapters are actually quite bad! The tone of the story only matures later on, so with that said, continue reading at your own risk.**

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Whispers from the auditorium slowly died down as the girls stood there speechless, blankly staring at their Headmistress. A few moments of silence had passed before Sakura spoke up.

"I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama, but _what_?"

The voluptuous woman crossed her arms and met the eyes of her all female students.

"You heard me," she said clearly, narrowing her light brown eyes. "From now on Kunoichi Preparatory Academy will be a co-ed school, merging with Hashirama Senju School for Boys."

Crickets.

"Are we all clear?"

Seconds later all hell broke loose.

* * *

**Forget Me Not  
**1. Say What Now?

* * *

Seventeen year old Haruno Sakura had her life story all planned out. She would graduate from high school at the top of her class as the student council president, and after her lifelong career in medicine would begin. Her future would come in stages; university then medical school then internships then residency...step by predictable step. She supposed that the predictability of her future would add to the monotony of her life, but she didn't mind. Because if anything, Haruno Sakura hated change.

Which is why she hated this day.

It started normally enough. The birds were chirping, the trees were swaying with the late summer wind and the girls were chatting in the hallway, as per usual.

At that time, Sakura was still in bed. It was about fifteen minutes before the annual back to school assembly, but the pink haired girl was still deep in sleep.

This would definitely not do, thought her roommate Ino as she stood by Sakura's bedside and examined the sleeping girl. Sakura's limbs were sprawled on the surface of the bed and the blanket was rumpled and gathered at her waist. Her characterizing pink hair was spread messily across her pillow and it caught the stripes of sunlight radiating from behind the blinds. She was even slightly drooling. The image would have normally made her laugh, but Ino settled on narrowing her baby blue eyes in contemplation. Hesitating for only a second, she reached for a nearby pillow, took aim at Sakura's face, and watched amusedly as her friend inelegantly snorted awake.

"Eh, wha...?" Sakura muttered incoherently. "Ino?" she asked, still slightly disoriented. It took a couple of seconds for consciousness and clarity to take over. "What the hell was that for!"

"We're late," Ino said. "Actually, _you're _late. I ran into Shizune-sensei on the way to the assembly. She was freaking out because she couldn't find you anywhere so she told me to look for you. Well it turns out that you're here. Sleeping."

Sakura's eyes widened as she jolted upright. She jerkily turned her head to look at the digital clock on her bedside.

8:43.

Nope, not possible. She blinked hard.

8:44.

"Shit!" Sakura yelled as she pushed her duvet off as if it had caught fire. She quickly ran to the washroom and accidentally slammed the door in her haste. On the other side of the wall Ino heard the tap running.

Their room was a chaotic mess. Most girls had just settled in their new dorms because summer vacation had ended days ago. As a result, Sakura and Ino didn't get a chance to unpack their suitcases yet, so their floor was a mess of clothes yet to be hanged while their tabletops were cluttered with make-up and hair supplies.

"Ino!" Sakura called out from the bathroom while brushing her teeth. "Khan you ghet my unifohm rhedy?"

"Sure," the blonde replied, laughing inwardly at how Sakura sounded. She headed to their closet and began picking out her friend's uniform items—blouse, tie, kilt, and blazer—with no particular rush. She set them down on Sakura's bed and soon enough the pink haired girl emerged from the bathroom.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Sakura muttered agitatedly as she grabbed her clothes and hurriedly buttoned her blouse.

As the student council president it was customary for Sakura to deliver the welcoming speech to the enrolling sixth graders in the back to school assembly. Sakura was never going to hear the end of it from Shizune; she was supposed to be at the auditorium already to help the older woman prepare for everything. Tsunade made them responsible for organizing the assembly after all.

"I never knew I needed to," Ino replied. Sakura glared mutinously and continued to put on her clothes. "Besides, there was this announcement. It said to come to come down to the auditorium immediately, so naturally I went. I don't know what it was all about...some crap about the future of our school. It was weird."

Sakura furrowed her brows in confusion as she slipped on her shoes. "Future of our school? It's a back to school assembly."

"I don't get it either," Ino admitted. "In fact, no one does. I talked to some girls and nobody had a clue what Tsunade-sama was talking about. It's supposed to be really important though."

"Whatever." Sakura shook her head and discarded the thought. "Let's go. The doors are going to close on us at this rate."

_._

_._

The Kunoichi Preparatory Academy had a long standing reputation as one of the best high schools in Konoha. Known commonly as KPA, the school was famous for its academics, affluence and driven students. The foliage bordering the campus added to the scholarly atmosphere, and any girl would've thought herself lucky to attend KPA.

At least, that's what Sakura always thought.

Now she wasn't too sure. The auditorium was in chaos—girls were loudly voicing their opposition, questions were yelled instead of asked and it seemed that every female in the auditorium had something to say. The students definitely weren't acting as the poised, sophisticated young women that their school made them out to be.

Everybody expected a simple back to school assembly. Prior to Tsunade's announcement, nothing was out of the ordinary. The girls were calm and attentive as Shizune talked about school policies and rules. For about half an hour she reviewed the Student Handbook that nobody ever read, covering things like uniform policy, cafeteria hours, and curfew. When it was time for Sakura to deliver her welcoming speech, she was called to the podium.

Sakura would admit that it was slightly nerve-wracking to speak in front of an entire school, but KPA's student population was abnormally small for a campus that big. The amount of girls enrolling each year was steadily decreasing and there were many classrooms not being used. In fact, one of the dorm buildings was completely vacant. They still kept it in good condition of course, even if was rather useless.

Most girls didn't mind the small population because they were used to it. In fact, some believed that it made the school community closer since everybody seemed to know everyone else.

With that said, everyone also knew that the school's dwindling population was a pressing problem. What was less common knowledge however, was that Hashirama Senju School for Boys would be the solution.

The mere mention of the all-boys school was enough to make some girls flinch. Hashirama Senju was as notorious as KPA was prestigious. Whenever there were fights, pranks or plain rowdiness, the response would always be, "Oh is it those Hashirama Senju boys again?" or "Damn those Hashirama Senju boys!" Much fist shaking would ensue.

It mainly had to do with the fact that the Headmaster of the school was Jiraiya, so parties and porn weren't prohibited or even hidden. Rules were slack at best and non-existent at worst.

It made sense that KPA would take students from Hashirama Senju. There were way too many boys clustered in that one school and they were overpopulated to the point that the school building just couldn't contain everyone anymore. Maybe that was the reason for the lack of order in the school. But still...

"Hashirama Senju? Please, at least some other school!" one girl exclaimed.

"Those guys are pigs!" another yelled.

"Tsunade-sama, what's going on?"

At the stage, the Headmistress rubbed her temples in agitation.

"Where will they even stay?"

"What about curfew?"

"At least give us some decent boys!"

Her students were complete brats, Tsunade mused. The rising volume of overlapping voices was starting to reverberate through the blond woman's skull, and she groaned in pain and annoyance.

"That's enough!" she yelled authoritatively as her amber eyes narrowed dangerously at the audience.

Sakura flinched inwardly as Tsunade's voice echoed through the room. The ferocity of the older woman's glare was felt even at the back of the auditorium where she and Ino sat. Soon enough all protests died down but the confusion remained.

Tsunade cleared her throat. The auditorium was completely silent and she had every girl's attention.

"Now ladies," she began, "as you may know, this school has excess space that is not used by the students or faculty. Our campus was meant to accommodate 3000 students, but there are currently only 800 students. With much thought to the matter I have met up with Jiraiya and we have reached our decision. It is final."

The audience began to whisper again and Tsunade continued.

"To suit the boys, our name will be changed from Kunoichi Preparatory Academy to Konoha Preparatory Academy. As you can imagine, the addition to the student body will change many things.

"Students will be expected at their rooms by specific times. Elementary students are expected back at 10 PM and high school students are expected at midnight." Everybody groaned. "Your living arrangements may also change a little. We have one full dormitory not being used, so that will be fully occupied by the Hashirama Senju boys from sixth to eighth grade. The east dorm will house girls also from sixth to eighth grade. However, the north dorm will be shared between males and females." Ino and Sakura shared a glace, as that was where they were living. "Your roommates will not change though you may have to switch rooms, since each floor has to have the same number of girls and boys.

"Boys sports teams and other extracurricular clubs will be added to the school in order suit the interests the new students. Your parents have been notified of this change and they approve, having decided that this merging is beneficial to KPA."

Tsunade paused from her speech to take a look at the audience. The girls reacted very differently to the news. Some were excited while others were apprehensive, though most of the students were still digesting the information.

"That's all for now," she resumed. "Any personal questions or concerns can be directed to the office or guidance room. Classes are cancelled for the week since the boys will be settling in."

That information seemed to placate the teenagers, and Tsunade inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. With that she nonchalantly left the stage, leaving the girls in stunned silence.

_._

_._

Meanwhile at Hashirama Senju School for Boys, students were getting ready to move into the all-girls school down the block. In one particular dorm, a blond was playing with a basketball while his dark-haired roommate was busy stuffing his few belongings into a duffel bag.

The dark-haired boy turned to his friend. "Naruto, go pack up. We're leaving in two hours," he said.

"Eh? Oh yeah! We're going to a girl's school, we're going a girl's school," Naruto said in a sing-song manner, putting down the basketball he was tossing absently. The bus was already waiting outside and some guys already loaded all their suitcases. The blond didn't even start packing yet, though that didn't surprise his long-time best friend. "Sasuke, aren't you exited?"

"No, dobe," Sasuke said, sighing and stuffing the last of his clothes into his navy duffel bag. "Why would I be?"

"We're talking about girls here, Sasuke. _Girls!_ And tons of 'em. You know what? I bet they'll all go after this hunk right here," Naruto pointed to himself and puffed out his chest, "since they've been without some good testosterone for a while."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "I think that they'd rather lick sandpaper," he said flatly.

Naruto pouted childishly. "Nuh-uh! Just watch Sasuke, I'll score tons of girls. They'd be clinging to Naruto-sama all day long."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. He didn't know why Naruto got so excited about transferring schools or getting a girlfriend. To him, girls were all pretty annoying with their whiny _'Sasuke-kuns'_ and hearts in their eyes or whatnot. Their legs were nice, but that was pretty much it for Sasuke.

Sasuke zipped his duffel bag and slung it across his shoulders. He walked toward the doorway, ready to leave the room. "I'll be at the cafeteria. Jiraiya asked to meet everyone there."

"Hey, wait. I still need to pack! Bastard, come back!"

_._

_._

"Ugh, I can't believe this," Ino groaned while trudging her bags up the stairs. "Seriously, why couldn't they just let one floor have more girls? Jeez," she said, blowing a lock of hair out of her view.

Two days after Tsunade broke the news, boys started settling in. The campus became quite lively. A whole registration process was happening and the girls acutely felt the change to their school's atmosphere.

It was especially busy in the north dorm where Ino and Sakura recently settled in. Some girls had to change rooms so there would be an exact number of sixteen people per gender for each floor. To their inconvenience, Ino and Sakura were one of those girls.

"Ino, you're just walking up two floors," Sakura pointed out as she carried her own stuff with ease. The green eyed girl managed to stuff all her possessions in one suitcase.

"And that too! Couldn't they have installed elevators? My bags are freaking heavy!"

Ino was carrying a compact bag on the bend of her right elbow, while her hand was carrying a duffel bag. Her left arm was hauling a large suitcase up the steps.

"That's because you brought so much stuff," Sakura replied, "you know, one full bag just for makeup isn't necessary."

Ino turned around and shot her a look. "Sakura, what am I without my makeup? Have you _seen_ me in the morning?"

The pink haired girl cringed and decided not to say anything, just to play it safe.

"Whatever. At least some of the boys are hot." Ino said while climbing up a few more steps. "I saw this one guy, he was really cute. Tan, tall, buff…all that."

"Ino, these boys are from Hashirama Senju. How courteous do you think they'll be?" Sakura asked.

"They don't have to be _courteous_, Sakura." Ino joked, sticking her tongue out. "Bad boys have more fun!"

Sakura rolled her green eyes light-heartedly. They had reached Floor D, the new destination for their room. Sakura opened the door with her free hand and let Ino go through first before entering. While Ino lead the way and held their new keys, Sakura looked through the hallway and noted that it was no different from their old one, just two stories higher.

Ino handed Sakura the keys when they finally reached the room because her hands were full. Sakura turned the lock and the door opened with a click. She entered their room and Ino came in behind her while dumping all of her bags on the floor.

"Wow, that's a ton off my arms right there." Ino said while plopping stomach-down to her new bed. "Hey Sakura, look!" she said, pointing to the window. "We get a much better view up here."

Sakura looked outside and saw the trees behind their school swaying calmly. She walked towards the window and opened it to let the wind in.

"Ah, that's much better." Sakura said. She looked at Ino and then looked at the watch on her hand.

Her eyes widened as she realized what time it was. "Oh crap, I've got to be at a student council meeting in ten minutes," Sakura said while putting on her autumn jacket. "I'll be back in half an hour, and then we'll decorate this plain room, 'kay Pig?"

Ino stood up and narrowed her eyes. "Forehead Girl, don't call me a pig!" she exclaimed, crossing her arms.

Sakura laughed at their customary goodbye and hugged Ino as she made her way out of the door. "Bye Ino-_pig_!"

She arrived at the library for the meeting a short while after leaving the room. It was pretty close walking distance and Sakura managed to get there in time by jogging lightly. When she stepped into the library she was greeted by the sight of endless shelves and a long mahogany table. Sakura instantly noticed the males whom she assumed to be Hashirama Senju's student council sitting around the table and her curiosity was peaked. Soon enough she was greeted by a sophomore, Mei, whom she was on good terms with.

"Good morning kaichou,**(1)**" Mei greeted cheerfully. "We were just about to discuss how the student council should operate now that we have the Hashirama Senju boys here."

"Thanks, Mei-chan." Sakura said, taking her seat. "Hi everyone, I'm Haruno Sakura and I'm the student council president of KPA. So have we reached any solutions?" she asked.

A young-looking male who wore goggles and had a trail of snot leaking down his nose began speaking.

"Hello, Haruno-senpai," he began, "I'm Udon. So far we've decided that we should have two reps for the school. It would save us the trouble of a new election, and each president could be a representative." There were murmurs of agreement and confusion in the small group.

"Well what exactly do you mean by a representative, Udon-kun?" Sakura questioned.

"You will have the same tasks as president," he explained, wiping some snot away with his sleeve. "And you will still be referred to as a kachiou, but the duties will be split with you and our own president."

"I guess that makes sense, but where is your president, exactly?" Sakura asked. As the president, she usually sat at one end of the table. It only made sense that Hashirama Senju's president would sit on the other end, but that seat was conspicuously vacant.

"He should be here right now," Udon spoke, "but I don't see him anywh—"

"DATTEBAYO! Am I late?" a blond boy called out, breaking the doors open. All heads suddenly snapped in his direction.

Udon rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. "Uh, there he is."

"Eh? Who are you? Your hair is pretty!" he said, pointing to Sakura. She coughed awkwardly in response and managed a small smile.

"Um, thanks?" she said unsurely. "I'm Haruno Sakura," she said, holding out her hand.

The blonde broke into a sheepish smile and shook her hand with vigour. "So you're Sakura-chan? That's great! I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'll be your partner in crime for this year!" he said, while giving her the thumbs up pose.

Sakura laughed lightly and at the childish antics of this mysterious boy. He acted like he had known her for years even though this was their first meeting. Naruto's friendliness made Sakura take an instant liking to him.

Tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear, the petite girl cleared her throat and smiled. "Hello Naruto-kun," she said. "I'll be glad to be your partner in crime for the year."

Naruto replied with a bigger grin. "Okay, Sakura-chan. Oh, you can call me Naruto, by the way. I don't like formalities."

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**(1) Kaichou: means president. In this case, it's for the student council.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Two Days Ago**

"So are you boys going to make me proud?" The white haired man asked in front of all his students.

"Yes!" came the enthusiastic response from the audience.

"You know the girls at KPA are really pretty. Are you all going to get a girlfriend?"

"Yes!" they screamed again.

"Good! Now grab your bags and board the bus, because as of now you'll be a part of KPA. Now go make this school proud!"

Cheers erupted from the cafeteria. The chairs and tables were cleared out and Jiraiya was standing on a makeshift stage delivering a speech to his faithful students.

Right now the boys were ready to leave Hashirama Senju and move to KPA. The school, like KPA, had grades from 6 to 12. About 170 boys from each grade were chosen at random and told to pack their bags and get ready to leave their beloved school.

Some were thrilled. Some were shocked. Some were not happy at all.

Even though the typical teenage boy would've loved to be by girls after being in a same-sex environment for so long, the students of Hashirama Senju were reluctant to leave. There were absolutely no rules in terms of late night parties and alcohol under Jiraiya, just as long as people didn't find out. Considering how much the boys loved their parties, they kept their mouth shut.

Also, most boys didn't want to leave Hashirama Senju because they loved and admired their Headmaster. They saw Jiraya as one of them, only older and wiser. They could speak to him about girl trouble and he would tell them of his days gallivanting around places with all sorts of women. They could speak to him about academics and he would be completely honest about his own triumphs and struggles in school. They could speak to him about their personal troubles because when it mattered, the platinum haired man would be completely serious.

It would be a bittersweet parting for most of the students leaving. There were many things to leave behind at Hashirama Senju School for Boys, but nobody could deny that there were many things ahead too, in KPA.

* * *

**Forget Me Not**  
2. Impressions

* * *

**Present**

"Sasuke, come look at this!" Naruto screamed from the bathroom.

The dark haired teen was inside their room, wrapped in a cocoon of warm blankets. "Arshblargh..." he muttered sleepily.

"Come here!" Naruto yelled.

Sasuke grabbed the edges of his pillow and folded it to cover his ears in hopes of drowning Naruto out.

"Naruto, go away," he muttered.

The blond boy was having none of it. "Teme!"

With a loud, annoyed groan Sasuke rolled off his bed. He rubbed his eyes and groggily headed toward the direction of Naruto's voice. It was ten in the morning but since classes were cancelled for the week most of the students decided to sleep in. Sasuke would've been one of those students but Naruto's morning affinity woke him up earlier than preferred. He decided to see what Naruto wanted to show him and then quickly leave, just so he would be alone at last.

Sasuke glared at Naruto when he stepped into the washroom and found nothing out of the ordinary.

"I don't get it."

"Teme, look. There's no urinal! How are we supposed to pee when we need to pee really fast?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. This was what Naruto dragged him out of bed for? "Of course there's no urinal," he replied. "This used to be a girls' school."

"Yeah, but girls should have urinals too. I mean, they always take so long in the washroom, right?"

Sasuke let out an exasperated sigh and chose not to comment. He walked back to the bed and tried to go back to sleep but he couldn't. His body was already up and running and he felt fully awake. Sasuke growled in annoyance. "I'm going to take a walk around the campus," he shouted to Naruto.

The boys had only settled into KPA for a couple of days and Sasuke was still pretty unfamiliar with the campus. It was huge, after all. In Hashirama Senju, the school lacked land to accomodate for all their students, but it seemed like KPA had too _much_ land. There was a lot of greenspace and unnecessary parkland in the school, and it would be easy for a person to get lost if they didn't know their way around.

"Whatever, teme. Just be careful around the girls!" Naruto yelled from the washroom, continuing to do whatever it was he was doing in the first place.

Sasuke scoffed and ignored the warning, though in a couple of hours he would've wished that he listened.

_-x-_

_'Damn it,'_ Sakura thought, tripping over a stray twig on the path she was running on._ 'At this rate they'll actually catch me.'_

Sakura was currently in a predicament. She was running away from a couple of guys after they decided to run after her because she punched one of their friends in the face.

_'Couldn't I have dressed more?'_ Currently, the pink haired girl was clad in a spaghetti strap tank top she slept in the night before and some comfy spandex short shorts. She was still getting used to having boys around the campus. Before she could've dressed any way she wanted but now it looked like she needed to put more thought into what she wore if she didn't want to attract the wrong guys.

_'Oh come on! This isn't even that flattering!'_

In retrospect, Sakura might've overreacted. She was coming back from a lunch run fifteen minutes ago, enjoying the extra break that was put into effect because of the Hashirama Senju boys settling in. Everything would have gone normally if it hadn't been for a random guy who started obnoxiously hitting on her.

Sakura knew that he was only flirting with her because of her stupid shorts. No matter what Ino said, she was never wearing those out ever again. Sakura wasn't the least bit interested in the guy so she ignored him, hoping he would take the hint. Unfortunately he didn't. When the seventeen year old girl noticed this she stopped trying to ignore him and began to walk in the opposite direction. In return the boy clicked his tongue and reached out to squeeze her butt.

Sakura turned around in rage and gave him three seconds. He barely moved fast enough to dodge her oncoming fist and Sakura ended up clocking him. His friends witnessed what was going on at same time and decided to come to his aid. Unfortunately for Sakura this meant that three burly, scary, men would now be running after her.

The boys weren't fast runners, but they were big, stocky and muscular. Although those traits were what initially scared the green eyed girl, it made the guys lag behind her. Sakura was able to outrun them with her light, petite frame and soon enough there was a safe distance between them.

When Sakura saw the gates leading to the north dorm she nimbly leaped over them, knowing that the three boys wouldn't be able to do the same.

"You bitch, come back!" one of them yelled after realizing that they couldn't get to her anymore.

Sakura smirked and began to slow her pace. She was slightly sweaty and her chest was heaving from the run, though she didn't mind. She headed toward the entrance and reached into her pockets for her keys. It was in that moment that her peripheral vision caught sight of a boy in blue nearby running toward her. Curiosity ignited, she turned away from the door.

Sakura turned around the same time that the guy ran past her, causing him to roughly brush her shoulder. Since he was running and Sakura was merely standing there, the brush of his body caused her footing to stumble but he was otherwise unaffected.

The pink haired girl's balance toppled and she ended up falling on the concrete ground. She landed on her butt painfully and felt the grit of the ground scrape her knees. When she looked up she realized that the person who brushed her continued to run without apologizing to her.

"Jerk," she muttered from the ground. "That hurt!"

The person turned a corner and disappeared from Sakura's line of sight, much to her disgruntlement. While getting up Sakura saw a couple of young girls running toward her. 'Jeez, what's with all this running?' As the girls got closer Sakura saw their faces. They looked like they were in eighth grade at most, and she even knew one of them.

"Sakura-senpai, have you seen a pretty boy wearing a blue shirt?" the girl that Sakura recognized asked. "We were only going to talk to him, but he walked away so we tried to run. Then he ran, and we lost him."

She was a cute girl with her rosy cheeks and big, brown eyes. At first glance this girl seemed to be innocent and naive, but Sakura knew that appearances could be quite deceiving. Sakura couldn't think of a good reason why she or her friends wanted to 'talk' to someone who looked much older than them, so with this in mind, she pointed in the opposite direction that the boy actually went.

"I think he was running that way, Moegi-chan." Sakura said. "You should go back to your dorm now. This one is only for high school students."

The younger girl grinned widely in gratitude. "Thank you, Sakura-senpai! Don't worry, I know!"

"Alright, I'll see you around," Sakura waved.

When the girls were finally out of sight, the teenage girl turned her head in search for the boy that they were chasing—the same jerk that toppled her down.

_-x-_

Sasuke was in a pretty horrible mood. Not only had it been a bad day so far with Naruto waking him up and getting lost when trying to find the KPA library, but it was only the second day in and a couple of girls were already annoying him. What was more unsettling was that those girls were definitely jailbait.

He was walking around the campus aimlessly after leaving the dorm, enjoying the solitude. It didn't take long to realize that he was being followed and for a while he just ignored it. When they wouldn't go away Sasuke turned around, just to find out that it was merely a posse of young girls. 'Typical,' he thought agitatedly. Sasuke decided to start and stop walking sporadically, just to see if they would mimic his movements. The young girls didn't disappoint.

When they got too annoying, the raven haired boy snapped and turned his head to them angrily. "What do you want?"

"N-nothing." One of them responded.

Scowling, Sasuke resumed walking. In the corner of his eye, he saw that they persisted in trailing behind him. He decided to walk faster and inwardly groaned in frustration.

"W-wait!" they called out.

Sasuke ignored the girls behind him and quickened his pace. He heard their footsteps get heavier and realized that it was because they were running after him. He stared to run too.

Sasuke had just reached the outside of his dorm building before bumping into a pink haired girl on the way. He kept running until he found a place that he could squeeze into where he was almost positive that the young girls would overlook. _'This is crazy,'_ he thought. _'I'm hiding from pre-pubescent girls. Uchiha friggin' Sasuke is hiding from pre-pubescent girls.'_

With these thoughts Sasuke kissed the last of his dignity goodbye. He waited to catch a glimpse of the girls running by, though he couldn't see them anywhere. After a while, Sasuke poked his head out, wondering why they hadn't passed him yet.

Instead of them running in his direction, Sasuke saw that one of the girls that were chasing him was talking to the same girl who he bumped into.

_'Shit,'_ he wondered. _'They must be asking where I am. And that girl saw me too…'_

Sasuke's thoughts were interrupted by the pink haired girl pointing to the opposite direction. He didn't know if she was trying to help him or if she just mistook him for someone else. Once Sasuke saw that those girls that were gone for good, he squeezed out of the space and hoped that this would be the last of his fangirl misadventures at KPA.

_-x-_

Looking away from her dorm, Sakura saw a boy in a blue shirt coming out of the space that the girls would normally put their recycling bin. It didn't take long for her to realize that he was the guy that ran right into her.

As Sakura walked closer to him she made out that he had very funny hair. It was styled in a way that defied gravity and vaguely resembled a rooster's butt.

By now she was close enough to make out the picture on the back of his shirt, some red and white fan. And now she was close enough to see his face and understood just exactly why they were chasing him.

The answer was plain and simple—he was hot.

Not lukewarm like tea gone to cool, but hot like flaming curry. This guy was the freaking epitome of aesthetic perfection and Sakura was beginning to let it get to her. She was ogling for a good minute. Heck, she was even forgetting her anger.

Sakura shook her head to get rid of the distracting thoughts and decided to overlook the wonderful wonders that Mother Nature had bestowed upon this man. Instead she focused on his manners, or lack thereof.

"Hey!" she called out.

Mystery Hot Boy looked her way with an apparent scowl on his face.

"What?" Mystery Hot Boy spoke venomously.

Sakura's earlier awe at his attractiveness was immediately replaced by a great dislike. She mirrored the former Mystery Hot Boy and the current Rude Prick's frown. "Jeez, what's your deal?" she asked.

"If you're going to ask me to a date, I refuse. Now leave me alone."

Scratch just plain 'rude prick,' make that 'ultra arrogant rude prick!'

"What the hell?" Sakura replied. "I don't want to go on a date with you!"

Ultra Arrogant Rude Prick threw her a look. "Then what?" he asked. "Did you want me to set you up with my brother? Or maybe did you're here on behalf of a friend?"

Sakura's jaw nearly dropped at the audacity of this guy, not believing how somebody could have the gall to say that to a stranger. "What? I don't even know your brother. Wait, I don't even know you! Why would I want to go on a date with you?"

"I don't know, you girls freaking tell me," Ultra Arrogant Rude Prick replied.

Sakura scoffed and glared simultaneously. "That didn't even answer my question, you jerk. First you knock me down, and now this?"

"Yeah, whatever. Look, just leave me alone. Tell all your friends that too."

She tried to glare. He glared back, harder. After a few seconds he turned and headed for the dorm building right behind them. Sakura saw this and was about to go in too, but she waited a while so they wouldn't have to take the stairs together. The seventeen year old groaned loudly when she realized that she was the one looking like an idiot just standing outside the dormitory when he was already on his way to his room. Damn it all.

-x-

Ino was worried when Sakura entered their room with a distinct melancholy aura. The blonde was currently on her laptop catching up on the episodes of some TV show while painting her toenails.

"Forehead, what's wrong?"

Sakura sighed dejectedly. "I saw a really hot guy, Ino."

"…So what's wrong?" Ino questioned with a quirked eyebrow.

"Pig, let me finish." Sakura said, annoyed. "He was an asshole. Try to picture Sai, and multiply his rudeness by 10. No wait, 100."

"Oh damn," the blonde said, knowing exactly how unintentionally rude Sai was. "Wait, but he's hot, right?"

"Yes!" Sakura exclaimed while slumping into her bed stomach down. "And that's what I just hate. Why do good looking guys think that they could be the perfect example of an ass and get away with it?"

"Well that's only because beautiful people have something to look down on others for. I mean, look at me!" she said jokingly while flipped her hair. Sakura giggled.

"It's only two o'clock, and my mood's already pretty low. Let's go shopping, okay Ino?"

"Shopping? Anytime, Forehead!" Ino replied.

"I'm just going to grab my shoes right now. Are you ready to leave?"

"Me? Oh god, no! I haven't even put on my makeup, and I'm still in my pyjamas. Give me a second, jeez."

Sakura should've known that a second translated to an hour in Ino-time. Meanwhile she was preparing for some mall time with her best friend. It should be a nice day.

_-x-_

"—And then he told me to leave him alone! Can you believe it? I didn't even do anything to him!"

The two friends were currently taking a break from walking around the mall by sitting down on the food court. They had been conversing for the past few minutes. When Sakura looked at Ino she realized that the blonde's clear blue eyes were focused on something behind her.

"Hm? Ino-pig?" Sakura turned her head to try to find what Ino was looking at. The search was not difficult.

There was a guy behind them who was clearly making eyes at Ino. He was very attractive; he had tousled brown hair and striking bad-boy eyes that resembled a wolf's. A black leather jacket and red tattoos accompanied him, and Sakura knew instantly that he was Ino's type.

She looked back at Ino and her green eyes met her blue ones yet again. Picking up on the cues, Sakura whispered to Ino that she was going to grab a drink.

As she made her way towards the barista at the nearby coffee store, Sakura took her time ordering her latté and looked back at her friend.

The boy seemed to be making his way towards Ino and in no time he sat down in front of her. Sakura lingered around for a couple of moments while Ino conversed with him. They seemed to be chatting freely. Sakura knew that Ino was outgoing and it was as if she didn't possess a shy bone in her body. It really didn't surprise the pink haired girl that her friend was able to chat up any attractive stranger without feeling slightly timid.

After all, Ino's outgoing and only a tad bitchy personality was what made them friends in the first place. Sakura remembered how she used to be before she met Ino—shy, simpering and spineless. They had been friends ever since Ino saved her from a gaggle of preschool bullies and ever since, their bond had become unbreakable. Sakura smiled at the memory. Once she had gained a friend, she gained confidence. Little Sakura didn't need to hide behind her books and bangs anymore and once she built her confidence, nobody ever bullied her again. She and Ino really were best friends.

Sakura turned away to place her order. Once she got her drink she decided to linger around for a few more moments to give Ino more time. She smiled to herself and thought that damn, she was a great wingwoman. She walked toward the table yet again after she saw that the guy had left.

"What was that all about?" Sakura asked while sitting down.

"His name is Kiba. He goes to KPA too, same grade as us. We've seen each other around and I've always thought that he was pretty hot. He said he noticed me before," Ino said, sipping her drink. "I said I noticed him too, around the dorms and all that."

"So what did you talk about?"

The blonde shrugged. "Oh we just flirted. He told me that I was beautiful and that he'd regret not approaching me and I told him how freaking cheesy that was. He just laughed. Anyways, I gave him my number and he said to meet him at the ice cream place later. You know, to get to know each other."

Sakura rolled her eyes jokingly at Ino's flirtatious antics. It was really nothing new. "You should go."

The blonde looked up at her friend. "Are you sure? I mean, are you okay with this? I'll feel like a bad friend if I just leave you. We did come here to cheer you up."

"It's fine, really. Besides, I'd be the bad friend if I kept you from going. That guy was really hot."

Smiling gratefully and getting up from her seat, Ino gave Sakura a tight hug. "Thanks, I love you! And I'll buy you a latté or something for this, alright?"

Sakura looked at her and smiled. "Yeah, yeah. Have fun, Ino-pig!"

_-x-_

Sasuke woke up a couple of hours after he started napping and remembered yet another reason he should be cranky and unhappy. In a couple of days, his brother would be coming to pay him a visit.

Having Itachi stay over for a while wasn't that bad and Sasuke actually enjoyed having his brother around, not that he would ever admit it of course. One of the reasons that Sasuke hated having Itachi visit was that they would be compared by everybody he knew. Time had made him apathetic and he no longer really cared that Itachi-kun was _so_ much hotter or that Itachi-kun was nicer and kinder and more charming, yada yada yada.

Those conversations between his young female family friends never fazed him anyway. Not much did, actually. In fact the only thing that managed to get under Sasuke's skin like no other, not even Naruto, was Itachi's endless teasing.

Ever since Sasuke turned thirteen Itachi bugged him about girlfriends, or rather, his lack thereof. Two years later when he was fifteen (and girlfriend-less) Itachi began openly questioning his little brother's orientation. Now at seventeen (and still girlfriend-less), Sasuke was sure that his older brother would tease him even more obnoxiously, especially since he was now placed with a bunch of pretty and completely willing girls.

Just thinking about his brother made him slump down to the bed once more.

_-x-_

Sakura was surprised to hear her name called out by a familiar voice as she left the mall.

"Sakura-chan!"

The voice sounded extremely familiar, but she just couldn't put her finger on it.

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura found herself staring at Naruto when she turned her head to the direction of the voice. She waved in greeting.

"Hey, Sakura-chan! What are you doing here?"

"Hey Naruto," she said cheerfully. "Well I was just about to catch the bus to go home, but how about you?"

"Go home?" Naruto asked. He started speaking again while stroking his chin in though. "Well if I'm not back soon, Sasuke's going to miss me a lot, so I guess I should go back too. Want a ride, Sakura-chan?"

"Really? Um sure, if it's not a problem to you."

"What? No, not at all!" Naruto replied with a wide grin and a hand behind his head. "My car's that way."

The two began to talk as they walked toward Naruto's car. In a few minutes they arrived. Sakura climbed into his passenger seat and proceeded to place her bag in the backseat. Her attention was immediately caught when she spotted a familiar outline of a game package, though it was obscured by a jacket.

Her eyes widened as she grabbed the game and realized what she was holding.

"Shinobi Showdown II?"

"Eh?" Naruto said while putting his keys into ignition.

The engine roared to life and Sakura replied to Naruto's questioning look. "Shinobi Showdown II," she repeated, showing him the game in her hand. "How do you even have this?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, this is not even out for another two, three weeks." Sakura said. She continued, shaking her head. "How do you have this?"

"Oh!" Naruto exclaimed in realization. "Well my uncle works with the company and he gives me demos of unreleased games. It's kind of like a test, to see if people will like it."

The car was now out of the parking lot, and before Sakura knew it they were already on the road.

"Lucky much?" Sakura cried. "My roommate doesn't want me to bring a console so I have to stick with computer games, and I've been waiting for this for a while."

Naruto's eyes remained on the road but he continued talking. "Well you could borrow it if you want. I'm done with it anyways."

Green eyes widened. "Really? Wow, thanks!"

"Anything for you, Sakura-chan," Naruto said enthusiastically with that familiar wide grin. Sakura mirrored his bright smile and they resumed their conversation.

In a couple minutes they arrived at KPA. Sakura found that Naruto was incredibly easy to talk to since he reminded her so much of Ino. They both were blond, loud, friendly, and only a bit obnoxious. Sometimes it was hard to forget that she only knew Naruto for a couple of days with how fluid their conversations were.

Once Naruto parked his car the two walked toward their dorm building. They walked inside and headed to the stairs.

"Seriously, Naruto. Thanks." Sakura said as they climbed the stairs together. They found out that they lived on the same floor during their conversation.

"Eh, it's nothing much. You can take your time with the game too." The blond boy replied, reaching their floor. Opening the door for Sakura, he continued talking. "You can give it back to me anytime."

The two were now at the place where the hallways diverged with the girls' hallway on the right and the boys' hallway on the left.

"413 is your room, right?"

"Yup. I guess I'll see you later, Sakura-chan!" he responded while walking to the left.

"Okay, bye!"

The moment Sakura reached her room she immediately headed to her laptop, excited to play her new game.

A couple of lost hours and conquered levels later, Sakura jumped from her seat when a loud slam of the door roused her from her gaming reverie. She looked at the walls and realized that they were not illuminated by sunlight anymore. Apparently the sun had set. When did that happen?

Sakura paused her game and looked toward the source of the sound. She saw Ino by the door and one glance at the blonde's dreamy expression told her all she needed to know.

"I take it that your date went well," Sakura muttered as she gathered her hair into a ponytail.

"Yeah, it did." Ino replied, setting her things down at her bed. "Our next date is scheduled for next week, but he's going to call me."

"So what did you guys do?" Sakura asked.

"Well before the movie, he bought me some ice cream. And then we talked for a bit. He's a senior like us and he lives in Floor A."

"Only four floors down, huh?"

"Yeah, it's really convenient." Ino replied. "I only have to walk down the stairs to see him, not like with my exes. All of them practically lived like halfway across the world or something."

"I don't even know how you make time for boys. We're starting senior year in a week," Sakura pointed out.

"Oh my god, don't remind me," the blue eyed teen groaned. "Where did all the time go?"

"I know," Sakura responded. "Well if it weren't for the boys, we would still be in class anyways. It doesn't make that much a difference."

"I guess so. Still sucks though," she shrugged. "I'm going to shower, okay? Did you eat dinner yet?"

"Actually, no. Gaming makes me forget about eating, actually," Sakura said with a laugh and a growling stomach. "Uh, oops."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Well when you're done being a total boy, I'm up to go to the sandwich bar."

"Yeah, yeah. And for your information, this is much more fun than shopping."

"Go tell lies somewhere else, Forehead!" Ino said, leaving the room.

"Sure!" the green eyed girl answered. Pressing 'play' to Shinobi Showdown II once again, Sakura's grumbling stomach was paid no mind to and so was her need to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

"Nani? What's a Senior Retreat?"

"Well it's this overnight trip that all the seniors go to. The retreat isn't just for seniors, though. There's a Junior Retreat as well."

Right now, a student council meeting was being held in the library and the members were discussing the annual retreat that would happen in about a couple of weeks. On the ground floor there was a mahogany oblong table that the student council was currently congregating in. Sakura and Naruto were sitting at the ends of the table while the rest of the council sat on the sides. Everybody was listening attentively to Sakura's explanation of the Senior Retreat.

"The Senior Retreat much bigger though. Usually the juniors stay in town and attend a workshop, but the seniors go somewhere that requires an airplane. We typically do tourist things, like visit famous places and walk around. Half of it is class exploring and the other half is independent exploring – the teachers let you see the city on your own as long as you're back at a certain time."

"That sounds so cool, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed. "What's happening this year?"

"Well last year we decided that the retreat would be in Kusogakure, but we can always think of something new if it's not alright with you guys."

"Kuso?" Naruto said, scratching his head. The Village Hidden in the Grass was known for its peaceful countryside and beautiful rolling hills. The equanimity that if offered often lured tourists into making it their next travel destination. The sunsets and sunrise were also reputed to be extremely beautiful and since the sky wasn't polluted with the light emitting from major cities. As a result, the night sky provided a canopy of brilliant, twinkling stars.

"Well I think it sounds good," Naruto continued. "I hear that it's nice and peaceful there. How about it, guys?" he asked the boys.

They all nodded and said overlapping 'yeahs'.

"Alright then," Sakura said in front of the members. "Let's start planning."

* * *

**Forget Me Not**  
3. I'm Not a Bitch, but Karma Is

* * *

Whenever Ino woke up, the occasion was always anything but graceful. The blue eyed girl had been indulging in sleep until a harsh announcement had startled out of bed. It was the Headmistress' voice, and if Tsunade was personally making an announcement herself, Ino knew it was something serious.

'_Listen __up, __KPA.'_ The brisk voice said. _'I __want __all __of __you __to __get __your __clean __panties __on __and __make __it __to __the __auditorium. __Now.'_

The blonde looked around her room, blinking rapidly to adjust to the morning light. She rubbed her temples to tame the headache that came every time she heard Tsunade's voice. Inolooked toward Sakura's bed and saw that it was made. Next she looked at her alarm clock.

7:08.

This was far too early for her. She was the 'late to bed, late to rise' type of person, but she knew her roommate was the opposite. Sakura was probably up to do some school-related thing. Ino honestly didn't know how her friend could be involved in so many things, seeing as being in cheerleading took up 90% of her extracurricular quota for the year.

A week had passed and this day was the first day of classes. Although school didn't officially start yet, Ino already dearly missed summer vacation. Classes were supposed to start in an hour and a half, so the blonde had no idea why Tsunade would be telling everyone to go to the auditorium this early. She sighed and hoped that their Headmistress wasn't going to drop another bomb on them like she had last week.

Ino got out of her bed, still slightly disoriented by the untimely hour to rise. She grabbed parts of her uniform and headed to the bathroom to freshen up. The ice-cold water she splashed her face with sent an awakening jolt through her body and with that, she began to dress hurriedly.

_-x-_

"Eh, Teme, don't you think that Baa-chan looks especially scary with that glare?" Naruto asked Sasuke. They were seated in the second furthest row from the stage with the other seniors. The walls, doors and columns of the auditorium were made of sturdy wood and there was a giant chandelier placed in the middle of the high ceiling.

The auditorium was slowly becoming filled and it looked like everyone was confused. KPA's headmistress, Tsunade, had had called for a spontaneous assembly and judging by the whispers of the girls around him, Sasuke realized that assemblies weren't something Tsunade did often.

"I suggest you call her that to her face," he replied to Naruto.

"What, Baa-chan?" Naruto asked, with a questioning expression. "It's true though. I heard from one of the girls here that she's actually really old, even though she looks young. Apparently that thing on her forehead does some kind of anti-aging spell or something."

"Anti-aging spell," Sasuke repeated flatly.

Naruto ignored his best friend's customary sarcasm. "Hey teme, if that's true, how old do you think she is?"

"I don't know. She could be sixty."

"Well they do say that she might be as old as your grandma. I don't know for sure, but if that's true, then she'd make a smoking hot grandma."

Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto's comment. Some things he liked to talk about were so stupid that Sasuke found himself wondering, on more than a few occasions, why they were best friends.

"Seriously Sasuke, think about it. When she knits and cooks you stuff, you can fantasize that it touched her boobs or something."

The raven haired boy raised an eyebrow, not knowing why someone would even want that. "I don't want my food touching anybody's boobs."

Naruto shrugged. "And that's why you're no fun." His bright blue eyes suddenly widened in excitement. "Or maybe, it doesn't just touch her boobs! How about when you eat cereal? You know that the milk doesn't have to come from the cow, it could be the product of her massive—"

The blue-eyed boy was cut off by a loud clearing of the throat. As he turned around, he saw a blonde, extremely voluptuous standing woman right in front of him. Naruto gulped. _'Speak __of __the __devil,'_ he thought. The blond hastily tried to think of a save.

"…her massive authority?" Naruto said meekly. "Yeah! You must have extreme authority over a major cow milking farm or something. Right, Baa-chan?"

Beside Naruto, Sasuke inwardly face palmed.

"Baa-chan?" Tsunade said slowly in a low, menacing voice. She narrowed her honey-coloured eyes to slits. Sasuke could see the vein in her forehead almost pop and he hoped dearly that Naruto wouldn't say something idiotic to get himself into deeper trouble.

"Uh," Naruto continued while rubbing the back of his neck, "well you're like, fifty, right?"

Never mind. If the idiot was stupid enough to say that, then he surely deserved what was coming to him. Sasuke honestly didn't care what would happen to Naruto as long as the blond didn't drag him down along somehow. As long as he managed to not say anything completely and utterly idiotic, as long as he could keep his mouth shut —

"Wait, teme here says you're sixty!"

Damn it all. What was he expecting from Naruto anyways?

Sasuke imperceptibly gulped as he saw Tsunade's glare travel from the suicidal moron to him. It took a lot to get the Uchiha wary, but with her extremely intimidating presence, wary he was.

"What was that?" she asked Sasuke, her aura radiating of complete murderous intent.

"…"

"You two. My office. After this is done, go there _immediately_." She said lowly.

When Tsunade was out of sight, Sasuke audibly smacked Naruto behind the head.

On the other side of the auditorium, Sakura sat down on one of the hardwood benches. She was sitting by herself for a while until she saw Ino enter through the big, heavy doors. She waved and Ino caught sight of her. The blonde smiled in greeting and proceeded to sit down beside Sakura.

"Hey Forehead! Do you know why we're here?"

"No idea," Sakura responded, shaking her head. "Tsunade-sama just called me to help her get this ready."

Sakura was leaving the student council meeting when Shizune caught her on the way back to her room. Sakura was about to get her things prepared for class but Shizune had told her that Tsunade needed her help setting up the assembly. In the end she didn't have the time to go back to her room so she stayed in the auditorium. She helped for a while and when she was donw, she waited until the seats started to fill up.

"You're like her bitch." Ino said, smirking.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "No. Shizune-sensei is her bitch. I just need her recommendation."

"You could get into any university you want without any recommendation, you know?" Ino said.

Sakura shrugged in reply. Her marks and involvement in the school were enough to get into university, but since Sakura planned on pursuing medicine, Tsunade's recommendation would go a long way. Tsunade had tutored her personally ever since she was twelve so Sakura was sure that she had already earned the recommendation. Tsunade just liked to put in in jeopardy since she was lazy and liked for Sakura and Shizune to get things done for her.

"Look she's finally going to say something." Ino said, nodding toward the stage.

Their Headmistress made her way to the podium and tapped the microphone a couple of times to ensure that it was working. The entire auditorium hushed down once it became apparent that Tsunade was about to start speaking.

"Ladies and gentlemen of KPA," she began, "I called this assembly because I wanted to review something with you. Before we start, I will just say this. Girls, things will resume the way they always did. Boys, this assembly is for you. Listen up."

Tsunade always had this way of being intimidating even if she was merely speaking. Ino and Sakura exchanged an apprehensive glance before focusing on the stage again.

"You all should know that I run a very tight ship in KPA. Hashirama Senju has had their fair share of unpleasant rumours circulated around here and true or not, I will not tolerate any of it." Before she resumed, Tsunade cracked her knuckles. Some boys winced. "If I hear from any of my girls that you've harassed or violated them in any way, I guarantee you will regret it."

As she said this, her eyes travelled to one of the farther rows. Her gaze was fixed on that area and Sakura found that she pitied whichever person unsettled their Tsunade's mood.

"I take my consequences _very _seriously."

The assembly continued for about another twenty minutes until all the students were dismissed. Tsunade revealed that she knew Jiraiya personally, so she knew exactly what kind of school Hashirama Senju was. She also made it clear that none of that would happen in KPA. All of the boys seemed to realize that they couldn't get away with the things that they were used to doing under Jiraiya's watch. The realization left the majority of the boys in a dejected mood as they headed towards their first period class.

Sakura said goodbye to Ino and was among the students going to Hatake Kakashi's period one chemistry class. As she was exiting the auditorium, Tsunade called her name.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama?" she replied.

"Sakura, I need you to pick up some documents from the photocopy room. You can give it to me in my office."

"Tsunade-sama, I have class in with Kakashi-sensei in less than five minutes. The photocopy room is on the other side of the school. I'll be late," Sakura said with a touch of irritation in her voice.

The older woman shrugged indifferently. "I'll speak to Hatake. Just go pick up my photocopies."

Knowing that any protest against Tsunade's request would be futile, Sakura agreed with a heavy sigh. As she grudgingly headed towards the photocopy room, Sakura caught sight of Ino smirking at her from the doors. Sakura narrowed her eyes. Her friend was right — she really was Tsunade's bitch.

_-x-_

"So would you boys care to explain what happened earlier?" the frightening woman asked the two boys sitting across from her.

Naruto and Sasuke were currently in Tsunade's office, seated opposite of her. The walls of Tsunade's office were lined with medical texts, certificates and awards while the floor was polished hardwood. A large window to the left displayed a picturesque view of one of a fountain and Sasuke found that admiring the view was easier than meeting his headmistress' eyes. Naruto apparently thought the same, but instead of looking at the fountain, his blue eyes were fixated on the details of Tsunade's enormous wooden desk. Sasuke was surprised that Naruto was actually capable of keeping his mouth shut, though that trait would've been much more appreciated back in the auditorium.

"Very well." She said, obviously irritated. "Then I shall go straight to your respective punishments."

Naruto's eyes widened in apprehension and Sasuke glared at him. The hazel-eyed woman continued, sighing. "But to tell you the truth, I haven't decided yet." she said, slumping into her chair. Sasuke felt hopeful for a few seconds, but he immediately squashed that feeling. Knowing what kind of woman Tsunade was, it was unlikely that she would just let them go without punishment. A few moments later, there were light knocks on the door.

Tsunade sighed. "Come in!" she yelled. The door clicked and small, pink haired girl entered the room. The Headmistress' mood palpably lightened. "Ah, Sakura, come in," she said pleasantly. The tone was nothing like Naruto nor Sasuke ever heard from her.

The girl smiled. "I have your documents, Tsunade-sama."

Sakura could see the backs of two boys as she walked in. One was blond and another was dark-haired. The green eyed girl wondered what these two did to land themselves in Tsunade's office. Sakura's eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion — it wasn't often that students were sent to the office_. __'But __then __again,'_ she mused, _'none __of the __students __had __been __from __Hashirama __Senju.'_

As she closed the door behind her, the blond boy turned around. Sakura blinked in mild surprise — it was none other than Naruto. Seeing her there, Naruto's face lit up in hope as if somebody had just arrived to free him after he had been incarcerated.

"Sakura-chan!" he yelled, seemingly forgetting about the menacing woman behind him. "The bastard and I here are in _big_ trouble. Help?"

Beside Naruto, Sasuke turned around as well. "Don't call me that, dobe."

Sakura's eyes narrowed instantaneously. She instantly remembered him as the Ultra Arrogant Rude Prick she had encountered just a few days before.

Sakura tried her best glare and directed it to him. "You." She said lowly.

Sasuke fought the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. This girl had obviously recognized him. He had recognized her too, but he was dearly hoping that she wouldn't remember him and by extension, his rudeness towards her. If he had known that she was the one behind them, he never would have turned around.

Unfortunately, the heavens didn't seem to favour him very much.

After she finished examining the documents that Sakura handed to her, Tsunade looked up. "Great, Sakura."

She nodded curtly in reply. "If that's all, then I'll make my way to class now."

"Wait," Tsunade said abruptly just as Sakura was leaving the office. "Help me decide something."

"Hm?" she asked, halting momentarily.

"Give me a good idea for a punishment for these two."

Yup, Sasuke mused, the heavens _really_ didn't like him. He didn't even do anything and he found himself in their headmistress' office, at the mercy of the girl whom he had blatantly offended just a few days back. Beside him, the idiot spoke.

"Eh?" Naruto asked confusedly. When it suddenly sunk in that Sakura could save him from Tsunade's ominous threats, his face lit up in the brightest way possible. "Sakura-chan?"

Examining the blond boy's puppy dog expression, Sakura's eyes softened. '_He _did _lend __me __Shinobi Showdown __II,_' she reminded herself.

"Well I kind of owe Naruto big-time, so I guess he can be let off the hook," she said casually, meeting Tsunade's eyes.

The woman in front of her shrugged apathetically. "Very well." Naruto's eyes brightened while Sasuke's widened. "How about the other one?"

Sakura smirked deviously. The jerk would get what he deserved.

"Well I heard that Gai-sensei is in need of an assistant for his early morning workouts," she offered. "It's a suitable consequence, don't you think?"

The raven haired boy's eyes narrowed as he cursed his bad luck. He briefly wondered what Sakura's ties were with their headmistress as Tsunade agreed to letting Naruto off the hook without any questions, not even an inquiry about what Sakura owed Naruto. He felt himself growing slightly confused. How did Naruto even know her? Sasuke soon dismissed that thought when he realized that he should be more concerned with his punishment. But wait—he didn't even do anything to be punished for! It was Naruto that couldn't keep his mouth shut, and so it should be Naruto that should be the one who assisted this 'Gai-sensei' on his morning workouts.

It was at that precise moment when Sasuke decided that his blond friend would suffer somehow.

Tsunade smiled widely. "And that is why you are my protégé, Sakura." The younger girl seemed happy with her acknowledgement.

"As for you," she continued, staring at the Uchiha, "you will aid Maito Gai in the morning during his training regimens. You will do this for one month, or until I say that you can stop."

Sakura smiled at Naruto as he began to spew endless thanks and compliments. Tsunade began to speak again. "You three are now dismissed. Sakura, Uchiha, I understand that you both have chemistry with Kakashi. Uzumaki, I suggest you make your way to Asuma's as quick as possible."

The pink haired girl nodded, feeling slightly complacent. "Shall we go?" she asked the tall Uchiha, nodding towards the door.

With a low snarl, Sasuke stalked angrily past her towards the exit. Sakura merely sighed.

_-x-_

"Ah, so my missing students finally made it."

Fifteen minutes of class had already passed when Sakura and Sasuke walked into Hatake Kakashi's chemistry class. It was in a lab and there were multiple stations designated for experiments. The desks were clustered together in the middle of the room facing the chalkboard. The boys and girls who were previously being assigned textbooks all looked up to the pair by the door.

"It's nice to see you again, Sakura." The silver haired teacher said, and then proceeded to nod at the dark eyed boy to her left. "And you must be Uchiha Sasuke."

"Hn." He replied impassively.

"Well take a seat." Kakashi said, motioning to the two empty desks at the back. They were beside each other.

Sakura sighed inwardly and Sasuke looked visibly irritated. This was going to be a long class.

Putting down her books and organizing her things, Sakura settled down in her chair and looked up as Kakashi spoke again.

Their teacher shrugged, sinking into his wheeled chair and burying his nose into an orange novel. "Everybody was just assigned a lab partner for the year. And since there's two of you, I guess you can pair up," he said casually, not looking up from his book.

This time, Sakura actually sighed aloud. This was going to be a long year.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So I went back and edited the previous chapters. I also merged chapters two and three together, since they were both relatively short and nothing that significant had occurred in either of them. I know it took me a while to get this chapter written, but inspiration seems to strike at the most unexpected times (the night before the first day of school, in my case). Anyways, I hope you enjoy this, and sorry for the wait!**

* * *

**Forget Me Not**  
4: Thank The Idiot

* * *

Sasuke had never been a morning person. In fact, he was quite the opposite—he preferred the night-time by a long shot. He didn't like the hours that people would generally stay up to party, though. He liked the quiet of 2 AM; the fact that everything around him was sleeping and still. He liked the darkness and the peace that accompanied it.

That said, Sasuke also very much enjoyed sleep. This meant that he almost never experienced the peace he found in the hours of early morning, as he would be amongst those dozing away, dreaming happily. It was a compromise, and Sasuke knew that it would come down to what he liked more: peace or sleep. Ultimately he chose sleep. It was a rational decision since he found a sense of peace during sleep, thus combining the best of both worlds. So after logically reasoning with himself, Sasuke never regretted his decision. In fact, he was perfectly content with it.

As a result, it made perfect sense that he would never have to wake up at early hours anymore, and Sasuke was happy with that fact. So given his unfortunate situation, it made even more sense why he was so furious.

It had been 4:57 AM when Sasuke was jolted awake by a splash of ice cold water. The sudden exposure to reality made him initially feel disoriented and extremely confused, but after that a wave of anger overtook him.

"What the fuck?" he snarled angrily, not knowing who to aim the statement at. It it was dark and his eyes were still adjusting. "Naruto, if that was you, I swear I'm going to fucking kill you."

"Now, there's no need for any hostility Sasuke-san!" a voice unfamiliar to Sasuke said chirpily. How did that person know his name? Was he still dreaming? "We are welcoming a new day and embracing our youth by making the most of our body's potential! Now if you will, Sasuke-san, please awake. There are plenty things we should do before the sun rises!"

It took a while until Sasuke's eyes adjusted to the darkness and when it did, he was able to make out a figure striking a thumbs-up pose. "…What the hell?" he slurred.

"Please get up now, Sasuke-san. There's another bucket of water I have ready in case you decide to succumb to the temptation of your warm bed and reject the power of youth. Our training regimens call out to us!"

Sasuke instantly recalled his punishment with a snarl. '_So this is Gai,_' he mused.

'_Morning training regimens my ass,'_ he grumbled inside his head, _'this isn't even morning. The sun isn't even up.'_

"If you will, Sasuke-san!" the voice intoned, loud but still polite.

With one final glare to the figure standing beside his bed, Sasuke grudgingly got up while cursing the idiot Naruto one hundred times in his only a few moments, he grabbed whatever clothes were nearby and groggily made his way towards the washroom. Sasuke slammed the door with a bang, not caring if he woke Naruto since the moron practically deserved the punishment that he himself was about to go through.

_-x-_

"Now class, let's all settle down," Kakashi said in his customary monotone voice. He was currently at the front of the class reading Icha Icha with his legs perched up comfortably on his desk, not caring enough to look up from his book. The class was behaving in an uncharacteristic rowdy manner; crumpled up sheets and paper planes were being thrown around in the air and the incessant noise never quieted down. Kakashi sighed. He didn't have to bat an eye at his classroom to know that all this horseplay was the doing of the Hashirama Senju boys. It was never like this before they came to KPA.

Closing his book with a heavy sigh, Kakashi lifted his feet off the desk and cleared his throat loudly. Suddenly the chatter diminished and every eye watched him. Students never saw Kakashi without his nose blatantly buried in that orange book.

"That's better," the silver haired man drawled out. "I'll take attendance and we'll get the year started by doing a lab. I'm assuming you all have experience with labs, and that you have reviewed the safety worksheets handed out on the first day." The class murmured a 'yes' and Kakashi started to take attendance. The goggles and equipment were at the front of the class and as Kakashi was calling out names, students were lining up to grab what they needed.

"Twenty eight…twenty nine…It seems that everybody is here except for Uchiha Sasuke. Shikamaru, please distribute the outline for the labs to everybody," Kakashi said while handing a spiky haired boy a stack of paper. He could barely hear the boy mutter 'troublesome' as he received the stack.

At the back of the class, Sakura sighed in annoyance. Her lab partner was absent — now she would have to do the entire thing all by herself. What could he possibly be doing on the second day of class anyway?

Grabbing herself a pair of goggles and cursorily examining the lab outline, Sakura seated herself at a station and began to neatly organize the flasks and test tubes. There were enough stations for every pair of partners so nobody had to share their space. The lab itself was very basic since Kakashi wanted to start them off with something easy. Students were asked to determine the reactivity of certain elements when they were immersed in liquids. Sakura had finished writing her hypothesis when she heard Kakashi's voice again, though it was muted since he was on the other side of the classroom.

"Ah, there you are. Your lab partner is over there, by the corner. It looks like she's already gotten started."

Sakura didn't know what Kakashi was talking about until soon enough, Sasuke joined her by the station. As he settled in on the chair, he rolled up his sleeves and put on his goggles.

"Where were you?" Sakura asked casually, attending to the experiment yet again. Sasuke glared in response.

She was about to raise an eyebrow and comment on the perpetual stick up his ass when she noticed the new bruises on his elbows and knees. And the grass stains on his uniform. And the slight sheen of sweat on his skin. Sakura couldn't help it. When she realized why he was in such a state, she burst out laughing.

This made Sasuke's eyes narrow even further, and Sakura's chortles soon dissolved into sporadic giggle fits. "It's not funny," Sasuke said, gritting out every word in the most vindictive tone he could manage. Paying no mind to his tone, Sakura smiled.

"Oh yes, it is," she said with a trace of a laugh behind her voice. "It's absolutely hilarious, in fact."

"It's your fault," he pointed out immaturely. Sasuke cringed as he recalled his morning. Apparently what Gai considered a morning workout was eighty laps around campus, one hundred push ups, two hundred and fifty sit ups, and a one hundred meter dash on the pool to 'cool off'. Better yet, Gai said that they were just _warming up_.

He was convinced that their spandex-clad teacher was insane. In fact, Sasuke was so traumatized by the entire thing that he was planning to negotiate hours of detention with Tsunade, or maybe some hours of school service at least…

"I guess that I should be sorry, but I'm really not," Sakura admitted with a slight smirk.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "I'm glad you find this amusing."

"Of course I do," she said while smiling. "Now pass me the potassium."

Sasuke passed her the potassium and he took notes as Sakura dropped it into water. The small amount of potassium fizzled on the surface and emitted a small flame until it ran out. Sakura then reached across for the lithium, and casually began speaking again.

"So how'd you end up in Tsunade-sama's office? I mean, you must've done something really bad. She doesn't usually send students to her office. Here, put the lithium in."

"…It was Naruto's fault," Sasuke dredged up reluctantly while dropping the small amount of lithium into the flask of water. "He's kind of an idiot."

Sakura paused from taking her notes to raise an eyebrow at his vague explanation. She remembered seeing Naruto in the office too when she went to deliver Tsunade's photocopies. "Really," she said flatly.

Sasuke sighed before speaking again. "He was expressing his fantasies of having her breast milk in his cereal. After, she came up behind us and he asked how old she was. Then he told her that I thought she was sixty."

"Yep, that's bad," Sakura said, clicking her tongue sympathetically. "Wait, you think she's sixty?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Not really. I mean, who knows."

Sakura smiled and finished writing her observations. She was cleaning up the station while Sasuke gathered their notes and soon enough Kakashi's voice reverberated across the classroom.

"That's all the in-class time you'll have to finish your lab but since all of you are in the process of cleaning up, it doesn't look like you have to drop by at lunch," he drawled out lazily, "I expect to see your finished lab reports by the end of the week."

The bell rang, signalling the end of the class. Sakura hastily grabbed her books and stuffed them in her bag. She left the room, heading toward her next period.

Her other classes pretty much flew by, and lunch time came soon enough. Sakura made her way towards the cafeteria, knowing that she would probably find Ino there. KPA also had a separate dining hall but it was so fancy that it didn't seem appropriate for everyday dining, so none of the students ever ate lunch there. In fact, the school only used it special occasions.

Unlike the dining hall, the cafeteria was lit in bright fluorescent light and the tables and chairs were kept simple. Vending machines and the cafeteria service were found left of the entrance, and Sakura was slightly frustrated when she saw that there was barely anyone there. Kurenai-sensei probably just let her history class out early, she thought with a slight frown.

Sakura walked toward a table, intending to sit alone until Ino came. She was just about to sit when she was tapped gently on the shoulder by a dark haired girl whom she recognized from her previous class.

"Ah….Hinata-san?"

The girl in question began to turn red. "O-oh, you know my name," she stammered. Hinata immediately started to twiddle her thumbs as she averted her gaze from Sakura's. "If it's not t-too much to ask, may I please sit with you this lunch, Sakura-san?"

Sakura, pleasantly surprised, began to pull out a chair for Hinata. "Of course you can," she said while smiling. "Why haven't I seen you before?" she asked casually.

"U-um, I just transferred this year," Hinata answered, still eyeing the floor.

"Oh, I see," Sakura said. That made sense. KPA was a relatively small school when it only housed girls and since Sakura was the student council president, she was familiar with most of the girls' names and all of their faces.

The cafeteria slowly became more populated and noisy as students started to settle in with their friends, and Sakura thought that she saw a head of light blonde hair in the throng. "My friend Ino will probably be joining us soon," she explained to Hinata, who was currently opening her lunch box. The shy girl nodded and started to reach into her bag to grab her utensils.

Soon enough, Ino appeared to join Sakura and Hinata in their lunch table. The blonde sighed dramatically as she sat down. "Gai-sensei is crazy!" she exclaimed. "It's the first day of class and he made us run laps around the school already. Doesn't he know that nobody even takes Phys. Ed seriously? It's just a bird course," she said, blowing a lock of hair out of her view.

Sakura laughed inwardly. Ino's rant made her remember Sasuke's ordeal with Gai. Although he wasn't as much of an asshole as she initially thought, Sakura still felt pretty good about thinking of such an ingenious punishment for him.

"Laps? Oh please, that's just the beginning for Gai-sensei," Sakura said. "I had him sophomore year. It was hell."

"I should've just taken chemistry with you. Kakashi-sensei is so lazy that he'll probably just pass everyone."

Sakura chuckled. "Probably. Oh, this is Hinata," she said, gesturing to the girl beside her. "She's in my history class."

History was always a fun subject for Sakura. She loved learning about how the Five Great Nations and how they used to fight wars with shinobi. The textbook was filled with legendary kunoichi and shinobi and Sakura would spend her spare time reading about how Konoha used to be in the past.

Beside her, Ino smiled brightly and held out her hand. "Nice to meet you! I'm Yamanaka Ino."

The white-eyed girl shyly shook Ino's hand and began to blush again. "H-hello Ino-san. My name is Hyuuga Hinata."

"Hyuuga?" Ino questioned. Hyuuga... The name sounded oddly familiar, Ino thought with a frown. When the realization hit her, her blue eyes widened in shock. "Hey, I think that Sakura used to date your cousin!" she yelled.

At the mention of her ex, Sakura abruptly halted in eating her lunch.

"Ah…Neji-nii?" Hinata asked timidly. He was, after all, the only cousin she had.

"Yeah, him," Sakura said, feeling a bit wary being in the spotlight.

She and Neji started dating when she was in the middle of junior year, and they had gone out for about six months. He had attended Hashirama Senju, and Sakura took an instant liking to him because he didn't fall under the negative stereotypes that the rest of the boys in his school had; he was disciplined, had strict moral scruples and was a gentleman to boot. But about three months into their relationship, Sakura realized that there was something…off between them. They greatly respected and admired each other as people and could talk intelligently about things for hours on end, but when it came down to things like romantic dates and kissing, Sakura felt like there was something missing. She never felt the need to go further, and Neji apparently felt the same way. There was no spark between them. No hunger, no lust.

On their sixth month together, they broke their relationship off on mutual terms and no residual bitterness had arisen since. They were actually on good terms with each other, as far as exes went. Neji was attending university outside of town now, and they had kept in touch with each other through the occasional text or online enquiry. In fact, Sakura was actually aware that he was currently dating a girl named Tenten, and he too, knew about what was going on in her life.

They didn't talk that often, but the fact that they were still able to get along with each other after breaking up further convinced Sakura that she and Neji had never been in love.

"I don't know how you can stay on friendly terms with your exes," Ino remarked, breaking Sakura from her train of thought. "I absolutely hate all of mine."

"That's because you only like jerks. Anyone else would just end up boring you," Sakura remarked.

"Oh whatever," Ino said while waving her hand in a pish-posh fashion. "What about you, Hinata-chan? Do you have any ex-boyfriends? Ooh… or maybe a current boyfriend?"

Hinata blushed ferociously and shook her head mutely.

"No?" Ino asked, confused. "Not even one?"

The dark haired girl continued to shake her head, even faster this time.

"Well that's a shame," Ino sighed. "You're kind of a beauty, you know?" she stated nonchalantly.

Hinata flushed even darker at Ino's compliment and in the casual way she had delivered it. The Hyuuga wasn't used to receiving any praise, especially none about her appearance. It meant even more coming from Ino, whom she personally thought was strikingly beautiful.

"H-how about Sakura-san?" Hinata asked, too flustered to be discussed about any further. "Are you currently looking for a b-boyfriend? Please forgive me if this is too bold to a-ask…"

Sakura laughed light-heartedly and answered her enquiry. "No, it's not too bold. I'm actually not looking for anybody right now. Boys kind of get in the way of more important things, you know?"

"Nope," Ino deadpanned.

Sakura rolled her eyes jokingly and Hinata giggled at the interaction. The white-eyed girl smiled; when she had first come to KPA she was terrified beyond her wits, but now it looked like it was shaping up to be a pretty good year.

_-x-_

"Okay Sakura, be honest — how do I look?"

It was currently evening and school had ended for the day. The students were back at their dorms and Ino was trying on different dresses while Sakura was at her laptop, trying to conquer the final parts of Shinobi Showdown II.

"Huh?" the pink haired girl mumbled unintelligently, not bothering to look up from her screen.

"Sakura!" Ino exclaimed, annoyed. "Please, I really need your help with this."

Reluctantly pausing her game, Sakura turned around to face Ino. She was wearing a tight, strapless black dress and some red pumps. Sakura set her mouth in a grim line.

"You're wearing my pumps," she pointed out.

Ino dramatically sighed and rolled her eyes. "That's beside the point. Now tell me. How do I look?"

"Kind of like a hooker," Sakura said offhandedly. She span back to play her game, ignoring Ino's glare. "Why does it matter anyway? Where are you going?"

"I have a date with Kiba tonight," Ino said. "I want to look sexy, but I don't want it to come off as if I'm trying too hard. Do you think it looks like I'm trying too hard?" Ino asked nervously.

Sakura turned around again, only this time she was less reluctant. Ino rarely got nervous. the fact that she was told Sakura how anxious her friend really was to impress this guy. Her green eyes thoroughly ran through Ino's head to her feet, thoroughly examining every detail. After a few moments, the pink haired girl smiled. "You look great, Ino. Seriously. You'll turn heads and drop jaws," she said earnestly.

"Really?" the blonde asked anxiously. Sakura nodded, and Ino immediately enveloped her into a rib crushing hug. "Thanks so much. I don't know what I would do without you," she confessed.

Sakura smiled; rarely anyone ever saw this side of Ino. She usually came off as somebody who was perpetually confident, someone who never needed anybody else's approval or good opinion. Most people would never know how often she had to be reassured.

"I hope this night goes well," Ino said as she brushed the tangles out of her hair. "This date was completely spontaneous. I mean, we were supposed to go out for next week, but this morning Kiba just told me that he'd take me out tonight."

"That's nice," Sakura remarked. "When are you guys leaving?"

"In five minutes," Ino said uneasily after she cursorily looked at the digital clock next to Sakura's bed. "Shit, he's probably downstairs. I should really go now."

After hastily grabbing her purse and giving Sakura a thorough hug, Ino hurriedly left the room.

"Have fun!"

"I will!" Ino replied from the hallway.

Left alone, Sakura finished the rest of Shinobi Showdown II within half an hour and spent another half of the hour feeling satisfied. However when the feeling of complacency left her, Sakura was at a loss to what to do. She had finished all her homework and had nothing else that she needed to do.

'_I should probably return the game,'_ she mused. '_What did Naruto say his room was again? 413?' _Flashbacking to the time where they walked to Floor D together, Sakura's hazy memory became clear again. _'Yup. Definitely 413.'_

Grabbing the game package, Sakura quickly changed into her jeans and a white blouse and left the room.

Naruto's room was actually quite close to hers and Ino's since they were on the same floor. Each of the dorms in KPA was constructed with an L-shaped floor plan, and Sakura knew that she was in the boys' hallway once her path curved. She passed by rooms 407, 409 and 411, and before she knew it she was at room 413.

She rapped patiently on the door and stood there for long moments until the door actually creaked open. To her surprise, it wasn't Naruto that answered the door, but Sasuke.

He was dressed in a plain navy blue shirt and grey flannel pyjama pants, and his hair was mussed. Sasuke was rubbing his eyes tiredly and it looked like he had just gotten up from a nap.

For a while, Sasuke just stood there looking as confused as she did. Sakura actually thought that she remembered Naruto's room number incorrectly, but she supposed that it would make sense that he would be rooming with Sasuke. The Uchiha was just about to ask about the purpose of her visit, but she cleared her throat and began to speak. "So you're Naruto's roommate?" she asked.

He nodded slowly, still trying to determine her intentions.

There was an awkward silence between them and it was only broken when Sakura showed him the game in her hands. "Naruto lent this to me," she explained. "I was just going to return it," she said, handing it over to Sasuke.

"Shinobi Showdown II," he thought aloud, thinking back to that time where they were all at Tsunade's office and Sakura said that she owed Naruto something. "This is what you owe Naruto, _big time_?" he said amusedly.

Sakura pouted and put her hands on her hips. "What? It's kind of a huge favour, you know."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and went into his room to put the game down on Naruto's bed. He didn't bother to put it on Naruto's desk. If he did, Naruto wouldn't even be able to find it, considering what a mess his table was.

"Hey, are you doing anything right now?" Sakura suddenly asked him when he came back to the doorway. Sasuke nearly cringed; those familiar words were typically the precursor to some pathetic attempt at asking him for a date.

"Yes," Sasuke lied harshly.

"Oh," Sakura replied, not looking dejected in the least. "Because I thought, since I'm here already, we could start on our lab report and it'll be off our backs for the week. I guess we can just type it out sometime later then."

Sakura was just about to head back to her own dorm until she heard Sasuke's voice again from the doorway. "I am doing something," he began carefully, "but it's not important." There was a hesitant pause before Sasuke spoke the next few words. "…You can come in."

Sakura was mildly surprised at the way his mood shifted after she had explained herself, but thought no more of it as she entered Sasuke and Naruto's room. She nearly laughed out loud when she saw the juxtaposition between their sides, and it was glaringly obvious at first sight which side belonged to Sasuke. The room that she shared with Ino was never split the way Naruto and Sasuke's room was. In fact, the majority of the things in her room were shared possessions between her and Ino.

Sakura was about to voice her observations to Sasuke but as she turned towards him, she caught sight of the stiffness in his posture as he turned on his laptop. "What is it?" she asked, confused. Sasuke merely raised a questioning eyebrow.

"You're all tense," Sakura elaborated matter-of-factly.

At her observation, Sasuke grew even tenser. Hoping to divert her attention, Sasuke handed her his laptop. "Word is on the start menu," he said succinctly as she sat down on the edge of his bed. Sakura immediately opened Word and began answering the first question, while Sasuke inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

It would be absolutely impossible to tell her about the real reason that he was so tense. Contrary to popular belief, he didn't have many girls pay him visits to his room, and Sakura was in fact the first to had ever done so. He had never really gotten over that subconscious fear of having girls steal his underwear or sheets or towels, so Sakura's presence in his room understandably unsettled him. He knew that she was only there to work on their lab report, but she could still discreetly snatch up something of his…

Sasuke shook his head indiscernibly to clear the ridiculous thoughts that had formed inside his head. _'Not all girls are rabid,'_ he reminded himself as he took out the notes he had taken earlier during the lab.

"What did you write about potassium?" Sakura asked from the edge of his bed. "I didn't take notes on what happened with that one."

"What does the question ask?"

"It's just asking us to list all the ways that potassium had reacted in water. You know, any temperature change, colour change, anything that would indicate that a new chemical was formed…that kind of thing," Sakura elaborated.

"I'll do that one," Sasuke said, sitting beside her and taking the laptop.

As he typed away Sakura further examined the room, paying close attention to the pictures that adorned the walls. On Naruto's side there were plenty of posters and pictures of him, Sasuke and their other friends. Sasuke, however, only had a single picture frame by his bedside. Since Sakura was already sitting on Sasuke's bed, she could see it very clearly without having to move. The picture seemed to be of his family; there were four faces altogether, two adults and two children. Sasuke seemed to be eight, and there was another boy who looked to be about thirteen.

"You have an older brother?" Sakura asked curiously.

Sasuke, who was currently finishing up his question, briefly stopped typing before resuming again. "Yeah," he confirmed briefly, "Itachi."

Sasuke felt mildly uncomfortable revealing personal details about himself to a stranger, a girl no less, but he decided to ignore that feeling when logic took over. His irrational paranoia when it came to opposite sex was getting absolutely ridiculous. What could Sakura possibly do with that information anyways?

The pink haired girl who was still examining the photograph sighed. "I've always wanted an older brother," she disclosed wistfully.

As an only child, Sakura didn't really have anyone to play or fight with at home when she was a kid. She had an extremely close bond with her parents, though she could admit that sometimes it got lonely without a brother or sister around. She especially wanted an older brother just so she could have that younger-sister-older-brother dynamic where the brother would always protect his little sister from things like boys and whatnot.

Beside her, Sasuke snorted. "You can have mine."

Sakura breathed a laugh. "Where's Naruto?" she asked, stretching her arms over her head.

Sasuke shrugged. "No clue. Probably doing something stupid."

The pink haired girl smiled and was about to continue the conversation, but there were suddenly a few light knocks at the door. She furrowed her brows. "Are you expecting somebody?" she asked.

Sasuke looked just as confused as she. "No," he answered. It couldn't have been Naruto since the boisterous blond wouldn't bother to knock. Besides, if he did, it wouldn't have been as quiet anyway. Sasuke tried to think of anybody who would visit him when Naruto wasn't around but he couldn't conjure up any names. The knocks persisted, still light and patient.

Since Sakura wasn't doing anything and Sasuke was busy finishing his question, she decided to get the door. "I'll go get it," Sakura muttered.

She made her way towards the door and it opened with a click. The sight that greeted her was unexpected—there was a man in front of her. He was a tall, lean and extremely attractive male who closely resembled Sasuke. He had raven hair similar to Sasuke's in texture but different in style; this man wore his hair in a low ponytail. When his penetrating gaze met hers he looked mildly confused, but shortly that expression was replaced by amusement. The man smirked, and Sakura was at a loss to what to do.

"Uh…Sasuke?" she called out.

"Yeah?" Sasuke replied, saving their lab report and making his way towards the doorway. When he caught sight of the figure in front of Sakura, his eyes widened with surprise.

The man's smirk turned even wider.

"Hello, little brother."


	5. Chapter 5

**Forget Me Not**  
5: Dinner Invitation

* * *

The minute that Sasuke realized who it was at the door, his mood immediately plummeted. Sasuke loved his brother dearly (though he would rather disembowel himself before admitting it aloud) but he hated being alone with him. The main reason was because Itachi's favourite pastime seemed to be making his little brother suffer—that is, he never passed up any opportunity to tease Sasuke. This was often done when they were alone together, as a display of brotherly love. Sasuke knew that endless teasing was typical of an older and younger brother cliché, but it didn't mean that he had to like it.

The fact that Itachi was standing at Sasuke's doorway could only mean one thing — he was about to get a lot of his company, wanted or not. Sasuke knew that his brother was coming to visit, but he never specified when so Sasuke just hoped that Itachi had simply forgotten. Unfortunately, this didn't seem to be the case.

"What are you doing here?" he asked brusquely.

"Why, I believe that I am visiting my dear younger brother," Itachi replied smoothly, ignoring Sasuke's rude tone. His onyx gaze shifted to Sakura's direction, and suddenly a strange glint emerged in his eyes. "I believe an introduction is in order, Sasuke."

Sasuke inwardly cursed. It was bad enough that Itachi decided to drop in, but it was even worse that he came when Sakura was in his room. Alone. While it looked like he just got out of bed. Sasuke decided that he was thankful that Sakura was immaculately dressed. "Itachi, this is Sakura," he said, gesturing towards the pink haired girl. "Sakura, Itachi."

Itachi smiled, but Sakura thought it a strange smile. She couldn't decide why; it looked like something was clicking behind his mind. She shook his outreached hand with a hesitant smile. "Nice to meet you," she said.

"Likewise, Sakura-san," Itachi murmured sonorously.

Sakura tucked a lock of hair behind her ear to occupy her hands. She fought the urge to blush, but it was hard since she was in the company of two abnormally attractive men. For a while her attempt was successful and there was no physical evidence of her embarrassment. In her head she scolded herself for being so shallow and easily affected by the presence of handsome men, but she soon disregarded that thought and focused on getting out of Sasuke's room before she would be further affected.

"I-I should go," Sakura said, getting ready to leave. "My roommate is going to expect me back soon—"

"No," Sasuke cut in abruptly. Sakura thought that she detected a bit of desperation creeping into his tone. "Stay," he pleaded.

Sakura became extremely confused at his request. She didn't recall Sasuke ever seeking out her company before, or even wanting it. _'But then again,' _she mused, _'his brother had never been around.' _She nodded in understanding—Sasuke didn't want to be left alone with Itachi.

"Um. Okay," she agreed awkwardly.

Sasuke turned back towards Itachi. "What are you here for?"

Itachi sighed. "Must I have a reason for seeking out my little brother's company?" he asked rhetorically. "I merely want to take you to dinner to catch up, if your temperamental disposition will allow it. Perhaps your…_friend_ would like to come," Itachi said while looking at Sakura, smirking yet again.

Sasuke's left eye twitched visibly at the way Itachi said the word 'friend'. He said it as if he didn't believe that that was the nature of Sasuke and Sakura's relationship.

"Uh…" Sakura muttered, not knowing whether or not she should accept Itachi's invitation. She had only known Sasuke for a week and they hadn't exactly got off on the right foot; perhaps dining with his brother would prove to be awkward for both of them.

Sasuke, however, didn't share her hesitation. He eagerly grabbed the opportunity that Itachi threw his way. Having Sakura around would mean that he wouldn't have to be alone with Itachi.

"She'll go," Sasuke said abruptly. At his declaration, Sakura turned around tersely. She sent him a bewildered look. _'What the hell?' _she asked him through her expression.

Sasuke subtly implored her with his eyes.

"Very well then," Itachi continued. "I believe that there is a new restaurant just a few streets down of here. It is reputed to be quite excellent," he stated.

Sakura gave a fleeting smile. She still felt a bit awkward about the situation; she barely knew Itachi, hell let alone Sasuke, but now she was to be dining with them.

"Did you bring your car, Sasuke?" Itachi asked, turning towards his younger brother.

Sasuke shook his head. "Just my bike," he replied.

"How unfortunate," Itachi said while shaking his head, "I don't know why our father permits you to gallivant around with a motorcycle. It is highly dangerous."

Sasuke snorted. It was very characteristic of Itachi to worry in his own imperceptible way about such trivial matters.

Sakura turned towards Sasuke. "You ride a motorcycle?" she asked.

He nodded. Sakura realized that she wasn't all that surprised. She could easily imagine Sasuke in a black leather jacket riding a motorcycle. She supposed that the image made his fangirls produce saliva by the buckets.

Itachi pursed his lips subtly but otherwise said nothing. "Very well. We can drive with my car. It's currently parked outside of the campus."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Why did you park so far?" he asked.

Itachi shrugged imperceptibly. "The visitor's lot is currently occupied and every other space is designated for the students," he explained. "I can bring it over here, but it will take roughly ten minutes. Surely you can take the time to change into more respectable attire," he said with a smirk, eyeing Sasuke's pyjamas. Sasuke glared mildly.

Feeling bad that Itachi would have to walk ten minutes just for the sake of fetching his car, Sakura offered him her company. "Would you like me to walk with you, Itachi-san?" she asked politely.

Itachi shook his head. "That will not be necessary, Sakura-san," he said, and his smirk returned. "In fact, please feel free to stay with Sasuke."

Sakura drew her eyebrows together in confusion. She didn't understand why his tone suddenly shifted…it seemed as if he was implying something. Before she could inquire about what Itachi had meant by his unclear statement and its insinuations, he was already slipping out the door.

"I will call you when I am outside the building, Sasuke," he said, and suddenly he was gone.

As the door shut, Sakura slowly turned around to face Sasuke who was currently hunting for some clothes. He seemed preoccupied and didn't notice her gaze until he looked her way.

"What?" he asked.

Sakura continued to look at him. "Why did you invite me to dinner with your brother?" she asked disbelievingly.

"I distinctly recall that he invited you," he replied.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Smart ass," she muttered, although her tone lacked any acrimony. "You kind of accepted on my behalf, you know," she pointed out.

Sasuke reached into a drawer for some jeans. "It's hell when I'm alone with him," he explained. "…he insinuates things."

He grabbed a shirt from a neatly stacked pile by the bed and threw it over his forearm. Sakura furrowed her brows. "Insinuates things?" she questioned.

At her statement, Sasuke tensed. There was a pregnant pause before the raven haired boy spoke again.

"…He thinks I'm gay. With Naruto."

Sakura, knowing enough of both Naruto and Sasuke's dispositions to picture their respective reactions, burst out laughing. The idea of Naruto not drooling after boobs and Sasuke actually taking romantic interest in somebody was amusing enough to send Sakura in a fit of guffaws.

It took a while before the pink haired girl composed herself yet again, and at this time Sasuke had just exited the bathroom after he finished changing. She had spent three solid minutes laughing.

"Finished yet?" he asked flatly.

Sakura gathered the last of her laughter and released it in sporadic giggles. "Not quite," she said, grinning widely at Sasuke.

He was now dressed in a fitted white shirt and dark blue jeans. Sakura knew that Sasuke just threw on whatever he saw first, but he still looked enormously good. No matter how much of an asshole she thought he initially was, Sakura couldn't deny that Sasuke was exceptionally handsome. He had a tall, lean build with broad shoulders and a distinct air of masculinity that drew females in by the dozens.

Before she could continue her line of thought, the phone in Sasuke's jean pocket beeped. He flipped it out and muttered, "Itachi's downstairs."

Sakura nodded absently and began to head towards the door as Sasuke slipped on a leather jacket. They walked out together, and both of them ignored the curious glances that people sent them on their way out.

_-x-_

The restaurant that Itachi took them to was not at all what Sakura had been expecting. She thought that they were going to go to a casual place for some food—not somewhere even remotely elegant. Looking around the restaurant, she whistled inside of her head_. 'Boy, did I think wrong.'_

The rooms were illuminated with dim lighting that created a relaxed and romantic mood. Each table was quite secluded from the rest, and the entire atmosphere of the restaurant was tastefully modern. The restaurant specialized in very expensive Japanese dishes. Sakura furtively glanced at the wallet inside her pocket and began to anxiously question whether or not she had enough cash on hand to pay for a meal.

Soon enough, they were lead to their table by a pretty hostess who seemed to always sneak surreptitious glances Itachi and Sasuke's way. Neither of the brothers noticed, or if they did, they just ignored it. Sakura however, was fully aware of the envious looks sent in her direction. She fiddled with the hem of her blouse awkwardly, trying to distract her mind from the attention.

Itachi mumbled a thanks as the hostess laid down their menus and water.

"So Sakura-san, how are you adjusting to the new addition to your school populace so far?" Itachi inquired politely as he perused the menu.

Preceding Itachi's question, Sakura had been scouring the menu, not for what looked like a potentially good meal, but rather, what was within her price range. She had only brought twenty dollars with her, thinking that it would be enough for dinner. The pink haired girl quietly panicked as she realized that the cheapest meal she'd come across was priced at thirty-five dollars.

"Oh, um," Sakura started, remembering herself, "I guess it's not so bad. Things are a lot different though."

"How so?" Itachi asked, sipping his drink.

"Well curfew's a pain, for one. The dormitory supervisors actually go out of their way to monitor the halls at night to make sure that nobody sneaks out. They never did that before," Sakura said, sighing. "If it's like this for me, I can't imagine what a change the boys are going through."

To her left, Sasuke snorted in wry amusement. They were definitely going through a change, alright. In Hashirama Senju, dorm parties (which generally accompanied loud music, alcohol, and boisterous people) were common late into the night. Despite Naruto's insistences, Sasuke rarely went to these parties because every time he did, he always felt as if he was had to babysit Naruto in order to prevent him from doing anything stupid. Those nights weren't fun for Sasuke, and he found himself liking KPA's strictness.

"It's not so bad," Sasuke mumbled.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "I would've thought that you would be the one against the merging of your respective schools, Sasuke," Itachi said, smirking. "After all, your fear of the opposite sex is nothing but highly unreasonable."

At Itachi's statement, Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. "You're scared of girls?"

"I am _not_," Sasuke hissed in response, though most of the acrimony in his tone was directed towards his older brother.

Itachi, in turn, chuckled and turned to Sakura. "It's nothing that anybody blames him for, Sakura-san," he said, completely ignoring Sasuke. "It is an appropriate reaction, given the unfortunate events of his childhood."

Sakura was getting more and more intrigued. She initially thought that Sasuke would be something of a playboy; she couldn't believe that he was actually traumatized by girls from an 'unfortunate childhood'. What was that all about?

Itachi dismissed the hostile glare that his younger brother was sending him and continued to elaborate. "You see, Sasuke has had his share of…bad experiences, so to speak. I believe he was only thirteen years old when a herd of schoolgirls launched a mission to sneak into his room and steal all of his undergarments." At this memory, Sasuke shuddered. Itachi continued speaking. "The same thing happened again when he was fifteen. Only this time, the girls held an auction amongst themselves with whatever they were able to get. Since then, our house has upgraded its security system immensely."

"…Wow," Sakura said, whistling. "What could've they possibly done with his underwear?"

Itachi was just about to answer, but Sasuke cut in brusquely, obviously not wanting the conversation to go down that path. "That's enough."

The older Uchiha chuckled at his brother's behaviour. "It seems that our dear Sasuke does not want to contemplate on the results of these events, Sakura-san. Please pay no mind to his moody behaviour," he said, purposely dismissing Sasuke yet again. "In the meanwhile, are you ready to order?"

Sakura giggled as she realized that Itachi was deliberately antagonizing Sasuke, in his own subtle way. The way that Sasuke was silently fuming was funny to Sakura, and she decided to play along with Itachi.

"Don't worry Itachi-san. I'm sure that it's a completely normal reaction to become moody after one is traumatized at such an early age. And yes, in fact."

Sasuke rolled his eyes as Itachi called over a waitress. "You two are fucking hilarious."

"Sasuke, I believe that our mother has taught you to refrain from using such crude language in a dinner setting."

He was just about to receive a scathing rebuttal from his younger brother when the waitress interrupted.

"Are you three ready to order?" she asked politely. This waitress was older than the woman who seated them, and she was also more professional. Sakura noted her formal attire and immediately felt underdressed in her blouse and jeans.

Itachi was the first to speak. "I would like the okonomiyaki with the special hand roll on the side," he said. "Sasuke?"

"Tomato onigiri," he mumbled.

"And for you?" she asked, turning to Sakura.

"Um…I'll just have the wakame salad," she said.

"Your orders should be here soon," the waitress said with a perfunctory smile. She left with their menus and attended to another table, leaving the three alone again.

As soon as she left, Itachi's phone started to ring. He took it out of his pocket and upon seeing the name on the screen, his brows furrowed.

"Pardon me," he said, standing up from his seat. "I have to answer this."

Sakura looked on with polite curiosity while Sasuke looked as indifferent as ever. Itachi started to walk towards the washrooms, leaving Sakura and Sasuke alone in silence. It was admittedly awkward, and Sakura found herself wishing that Itachi would come back soon. At least he talked.

Sasuke didn't seem to acknowledge the silence that brewed when his brother left the table. As a result, he didn't acknowledge the awkwardness either. The raven haired boy just continued to look on disinterestedly.

"So," Sakura began slowly, "have you been here before?" she asked in hopes of diffusing the silence.

Sasuke shook his head. "It's new," he said by way of explaining.

"I'm excited for the food," she said brightly, hoping that Sasuke would say something.

Sasuke merely nodded, and Sakura had the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. This boy really had no conversational skills whatsoever. She sighed and looked around the restaurant.

The restaurant seemed to be fairly successful, since most of the tables were occupied. In front of her, there was a middle aged couple eating in comfortable silence. Her eyes wandered to the table beside them, and she saw another couple. This time, they looked about her age. Sakura only caught their profiles, but she saw that the girl was a pretty brunette who tied her hair in clean buns. Her date also had brown hair, but he kept it long for some reason. It was at this moment when the guy turned around to call over a waitress who was in Sakura's direction that their eyes met.

Sakura, upon realizing who he was, immediately averted her eyes and let out a horrified squeak.

'_Oh shit. Oh shit.'_

Sasuke heard her undignified squeak and raised an eyebrow in question.

Sakura noticed this while she was trying to become as inconspicuous as possible. She began to explain hurriedly.

"That's my ex. And his girlfriend."

The Uchiha's tongue clicked in what Sakura supposed was his display of pity. "…That isn't awkward at all."

"Yup," Sakura said, nodding quickly. She turned towards the windows so that her back would be facing Neji. It was at times like this that she really, really hated having pink hair.

'_Just my luck. I don't even look good. Ugh I can't believe—'_

"He's coming this way," Sasuke said matter-of-factly.

'—_that this is happening to me. Wait…'_

Her head shot up so quickly to meet Sasuke's gaze that Sakura was surprised she didn't strain her neck in the movement.

"_**What?"**_

"He's coming this way," Sasuke repeated.

Sakura felt her annoyance growing. "Why yes, Sasuke. It's not like I didn't hear you the first time."

Sasuke ignored her sarcasm and Sakura had the sudden urge to bang her head against the table. Instead she settled for burying her head in her hands.

'_This is horrible. Why is this happening to me.'_

"Sakura," a familiar voice that wasn't Sasuke's suddenly said. She immediately knew who it was without having to look up. She reluctantly lifted her head from her hands and smiled shyly as she met Neji's eyes.

"Hi," she said in a higher pitch than usual.

Neji nodded towards Sasuke and regarded Sakura curiously. It seemed that his girlfriend followed; she was behind Neji but Sakura still got a view of her.

"How have you been?" he asked politely.

"Fine," Sakura answered a little too quickly. She was twiddling her fingers when she suddenly remembered about Sasuke and Tenten.

"This is Sasuke. I'm Sakura," she said, reaching her hand out towards the brunette girl.

Tenten smiled at both Sasuke and Sakura and shook Sakura's hand. "Tenten. Neji's told me about you before. It's nice to finally meet you," she said graciously.

Sakura grew mildly confused at the fact that Neji brought up his ex-girlfriend to his present one, but she disregarded that thought when she remembered that it was normal to discuss exes. Since she and Neji broke up on mutual terms, Sakura was sure that Neji spoke of her with the mutual respect that they felt towards each other.

"I didn't know you were in town," she said to Neji. "What's the occasion?" she asked, less nervous this time.

"We're visiting family," he replied. "I believe that my cousin just recently transferred to your school," he supplied conversationally.

Sakura smiled. "Oh yes, Hinata. She's a sweetheart," she said.

"I also recall being told that your school and Hashirama Senju merged," he said.

"Yup. It's quite…different."

Neji nodded. "I would think so," he said, glancing at his watch. "I'm sorry to cut our conversation short, but Tenten and I should go now. It was nice to see you again, Sakura. I hope that you and your boyfriend have a nice dinner," he said politely.

Sakura's eyes widened and Sasuke discreetly choked on the water he had been drinking.

"Wait—" she said abruptly, hoping to correct Neji's statement. Unfortunately, the couple already began to leave.

"It was nice to meet you, Sakura-san," Tenten said with a smile. "Have a nice date!"

"No! We're not—"

With a final wave to Sakura and Sasuke, Neji and Tenten were gone.

At this time, Sakura's entire face was flushed in a brilliant red hue and she buried her head in her hands again.

The colour in her face began to recede after a few moments, but her cheeks were still flaming pink. She looked up and met Sasuke's eyes with an apologetic gaze.

"I am_ so_ sorry."

Sasuke cleared his throat. "It's fine," he muttered.

Sakura breathed a long sigh and ran her hands through her hair. '_I can't believe that just happened,' _she thought. She supposed that she saw where Neji and Tenten's assumptions came from, seeing as most of the patrons in the restaurant were couples. With Itachi gone, it probably looked as if she and Sasuke were together.

The thought made her inwardly snort with amusement. At times, Sasuke seemed so asexual that it was humorous to picture him with anybody.

While Sakura was lost in her thoughts, Itachi sat down and joined them again.

Sasuke scoffed in greeting. "Took you long enough," he said.

Itachi sighed in displeasure at his younger brother's rudeness. "I can't ignore business calls, Sasuke."

The younger Uchiha merely shrugged and looked off into the distance. He caught sight of a waitress holding three plates; one lobster, the other salmon and the last salad.

"Our food is here," he said.

Sakura smiled in anticipation and took a sip of her water.

_-x-_

Dinner had continued pleasantly, and Sakura was happy to note that no more unexpected reunions had occurred during the evening. She was currently being driven back to KPA by Itachi while Sasuke was riding in the passenger seat.

"Where are you going to go now?" Sasuke asked his brother over the radio.

"I'm driving back to the university," he replied without taking his eyes off the road.

Sasuke nodded in reply. Soon enough they reached the North Dorm, where he and Sakura lived. Itachi parked in the driveway and Sakura unbuckled her seatbelt.

"Thank you for the ride," she said politely as she got out of the car.

Itachi nodded pleasantly. "My pleasure, Sakura-san. Sasuke, Kaa-san expressed her wishes for a family dinner to me the other day. I suggest that you give her a call before you witness her famous temper."

Sasuke grunted in reply and waved his brother goodbye. Itachi drove off while Sakura and Sasuke walked into their dorm building together.

The lobby of their building was quite spacious, and it could've been a lounge by the way the numerous couches were placed about. The recreational room was beside the lobby and it had televisions, numerous game consoles, and high end stereos. It wasn't asurprise that there were always groups of students hanging around there.

As Sasuke and Sakura walked in to the lobby, they received many curious stares from other students. It was pretty obvious that they were walking with each other and the girls were wondering who the hot piece of eye-candy beside their student council president was.

Among the students who were just hanging out in the lobby was Ino, who upon seeing Sakura, immediately rushed beside the girl.

"Sakura!" she said in greeting, giving the pink haired girl a hug. "Where did you go?" she asked bemusedly. When she left to go on her date with Kiba, she could've sworn that her pink haired friend was going to stay in all night to finish her video game.

Sakura gestured towards Sasuke and replied vaguely, "Dinner."

Sasuke nodded towards Ino in acknowledgement, and the blonde was silent, for once.

"I'm going upstairs," Sasuke said after a few seconds, turning towards Sakura again.

Sakura waved him goodbye. "See you first period," she said, smiling.

The green eyed girl turned to face her friend yet again, only to be dragged by the wrist to a secluded corner. Ino was wide-eyed, and once they hit the corner she immediately leaned in to Sakura's ear.

"Who was that?" she whispered loudly.

"Uh," Sakura said in a normal volume, not knowing why Ino was choosing to act all secretly. "Uchiha Sasuke. My lab partner. We just had dinner."

At Sakura's last statement, Ino's eyes widened even more. "Dinner? You and him?"

Sakura nodded slowly, not knowing what Ino was getting at.

"Was it a date?" she whispered lowly.

This time, it was Sakura whose eyes widened. "W-What? No. We were with his brother," she said. Ino looked confused . "…It's a long story," she supplied briefly.

"What the hell, Forehead?" Ino said, her voice reaching a normal volume again. Sakura thought that she heard a touch of irritation creeping into her best friend's tone. "Why didn't you tell me that you were out with a hot guy?"

"Ino!" Sakura squeaked embarrassedly. "We're not going out!"

"Geez, we're getting defensive, aren't we," Ino muttered. "That's so not the point. I can't believe you would hide something like this from me!"

"What? Hide what?"

The blonde sighed deeply. "You stupid, dense, Forehead girl —"

"Hey!"

"This is horrible!" Ino said as she started to flail. "How are you so blind?"

"Ino, I really don't understand what you're trying to say," Sakura said.

"That Uchiha guy. He was gorgeous! I can't even take him now that you have dibs," she pouted.

"What?" Sakura asked, genuinely confused. "Take him? What does that even mean?"

Ino completely ignored her question and continued to talk. "You have got to tell me all about your hot date."

Sakura didn't know whether to blush or roll her eyes, so she did both. "I'll say it again, Pig. It wasn't a date! We were with his _brother_."

Ino snorted as she and Sakura headed toward the stairs to get back to their room. "Whatever, Forehead. Just watch. Six weeks from now, I'll bet that you and that hot guy will be at it like bunnies."

The pink haired girl blushed deeply and was too embarrassed to think of a comeback until the two friends reached their floor.


	6. Chapter 6

It was a Friday night and Hinata was over at Sakura and Ino's room for a sleepover. A few weeks of school had passed and everyone was starting to feel the strain of senior year. The workload was overwhelming for most and Sakura often found herself exhausted from her advanced courses combined with the commitments she made to the school's clubs. Being the good friend she was, Ino proposed a sleepover to get Sakura to relax, since everyone knew that there was no therapy like sleepover therapy.

The girls were stocked on their supply of junk food and there was a line up for chick flicks available to watch at any given time during the night. Currently Hinata and Sakura were giving each other manicures on the rug while Ino was lying lazily on her bed, idly flipping through a magazine.

Hinata had been spending more time with Ino and Sakura ever since they all met during the first week of school. The two girls absolutely loved Hinata. The shy girl was genuinely sweet and humble and both Ino and Sakura found it quite endearing. Not to mention that she was completely unaware of her looks – Hinata was a striking beauty with her sleek dark blue hair and piercing transparent eyes, and it baffled her friends how she could be so unconfident.

Ino had been spending more time with Kiba and although they weren't official yet, the blonde was happy enough with how their relationship was progressing to not to rush into anything. He started eating lunch with her regularly, and by extension, Sakura and Hinata as well. Sakura and Kiba got along well enough, though they didn't really see each other outside of lunch.

During the time that they spent with each other, Kiba told Ino that he and Hinata had been childhood friends. The two were still close and it surprised Ino, since they were so different from each other. After reflecting on the differences between herself and Sakura, Ino supposed that differences didn't matter much in friendship and Kiba and Hinata's close friendship wasn't as weird as she initially thought. What was weird however, was when Kiba told her that Hinata never had a boyfriend. She hadn't even been kissed.

It was possible that the reason why Hinata was so romantically inexperienced was because she never liked anyone. Boys had to like her in the past; Kiba said that when they were fourteen he and their other friend Shino practically had to fight off herds of boys at a time when they started noticing Hinata's new...developments. But it still didn't make any sense. How could a girl go through seventeen years of living without being interested in one boy?

"Ne, Hinata, are you sure that you don't like anyone?" Ino asked, lowering her magazine so Hinata could see her raised brow.

The Hyuuga suddenly halted in painting Sakura's pinky pastel green and let out a mortified meep. Her cheeks coloured to a deep crimson.

Amused by her reaction, Ino put away her magazine. "So you do?"

"N-no, I don't," Hinata replied.

Ino rolled her clear blue eyes. "Oh please, your reaction says it all. Come on Hinata, who is he?"

"I don't like anyone," she said, turning redder by the minute.

Sakura raised a skeptical eyebrow. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor while leaning back and resting her weight on her arms. Although she didn't care for gossip nearly as much as Ino did, she had to admit that she was curious.

"Yeah Hinata, I kind of want to know too."

"It's really embarrassing..." Hinata admitted shyly while pressing her index fingers together.

Ino suddenly perked up. "Oh Hinata, You have to tell us now! Pretty please?" the blonde asked with wide puppy-dog eyes.

"U-um, o-okay." Ino enthusiastically anticipated Hinata's confession and Sakura looked on with patient curiosity.

"It's...Uzumaki Naruto."

A second after revealing her crush's name, Hinata hid her burning face in her hands.

Naruto had been one of the few people besides Ino and Sakura that made an effort to be nice to her in her first year at KPA. He was in most of her classes and one time they got chosen for the same group in a project. Naruto was friendly and didn't find her reluctance to talk snobby or weird. Being extremely timid, Hinata had always found it difficult to make friends in a completely new environment. Without him or Ino and Sakura, Hinata probably would've just hung around Kiba. She was thankful that they all made the effort to get to know her.

Ino stood dumbfounded. She was having a bit of a difficult time wrapping her head around this new revelation. Ino had always assumed that Hinata would be into the tall, dark and handsome type of guy with how aristocratic she was and Naruto was just so...Naruto.

"Really?" Ino asked.

Hinata nodded mutely.

"Why?" Sakura asked bluntly. She was just as confused as Ino.

"H-he's very kind," Hinata admitted after a few moments of silence.

That Sakura could agree on. Naruto was sympathetic and selfless and most people liked him because of it. After being in his constant company because of student council and classes, Naruto had become somewhat of a brother to Sakura with his boisterous and childish, albeit lovable personality.

Right after Ino got over her initial confusion her face brightened.

"Oh Hinata, this is great!" the blue eyed girl squealed while hopping off the bed to hug Hinata tightly. "You two would be adorable together. I can imagine it already."

Hinata outstretched her arms and waved her hands. "Ino, he doesn't even think of me that way."

"We could change that," Ino quipped.

Sakura agreed. She spent a lot of time with Naruto and if she happened to drop a hint or two about Hinata's crush on him, the seed would no doubt be planted in his mind. Sasuke would also be helpful; if he happened to feel uncharacteristically generous one day then maybe he could help her out and tell her what Naruto was looking for in a girl. Also there was Kiba. He was good friends with both Hinata and Naruto so he could probably push them toward each other.

"It's true, Hinata," Sakura said. "It can actually happen."

Hinata shook her head. "No, it can't...Naruto-kun is such a nice person that many girls probably like him. I can't compete," she admitted.

"That's a load of BS if I've ever heard it," Ino said. "First of all, who would like Naruto?" she asked, genuinely confused.

Sakura sniggered at Ino's bluntness. "I'm sure Hinata's the only one."

The dark haired girl's blush deepened. Naruto wasn't drop dead gorgeous but his boyish looks were charming in their own way. Besides, he had the most beautiful eyes that she had ever seen. Also, his personality should've upped his desirability factor considerably. Hinata couldn't understand why she would be the only one to like Naruto, although that information relieved some of her insecurity.

"This could actually go somewhere," Ino contemplated aloud.

Sakura nodded. "I think so too."

"You know what? We should help dear Hinata-chan out," the blonde said.

"Huh? N-no," Hinata said, voice raising a few decibels. "Ino, Sakura, please! It'll never work."

"Yes, it will. I have the perfect idea anyway," Ino said.

"You do?" Sakura asked. Ino's mind worked fast when she wanted it to. The blonde was smarter than she let on; Ino was extremely perceptive and she was naturally good at predicting feelings. It wouldn't surprise Sakura if Ino already planned how Hinata and Naruto's relationship would play out until a year from now. She wasn't wrong.

"Okay, so here's what's going to happen..."

* * *

**Forget Me Not**  
6: Matchmaking Trials

* * *

"Hey Sasuke, what type of girl does Naruto like?"

Sakura and Sasuke were sitting beside each other doing the chemistry homework that Kakashi had assigned a couple of minutes ago. The class stayed in the same seats that they were in for the first day of class. As a result, they still sat with each other.

That first class sitting beside Sasuke was extremely awkward and uncomfortable for Sakura. His irritation at her back then was practically palpable. As much as Sakura wanted to ignore him, she couldn't ignore the way he was silently fuming about the punishment that she decided for him. Back then Sakura was intimidated by his presence, though looking back she just laughed at his unfortunate situation.

She didn't mind sitting with him that much anymore. After being in his company for an hour daily, Sakura figured out that they talked rather easily, though Sasuke's version of talking mostly consisted of grunts and dry comments. Since the dinner with Itachi, Sakura understood his personality better and she stopped taking offence whenever he did that. It was fine since she thought that socially inept Sasuke was infinitely better than asshole Sasuke anyway.

He paused in writing and raised his eyebrow. "Why, you like Naruto or something?"

"What – ew, no!" Sasuke just snorted in amusement and got back to doing his homework.

Sakura humphed and crossed her arms. "I was just asking because a friend of mine was interested," she said in an I-know-more-than-you tone, hoping that the admission would make her embarassment recede.

After hearing this Sasuke paused in writing and furrowed his brows. Someone was interested in Naruto? "What is happening to the world..." he muttered to himself.

"Sasuke, you didn't answer."

The dark haired boy shrugged. "His type is girl. Your friend should be fine, though you should check her mental state."

"Very funny," Sakura said, unimpressed. She was slightly annoyed that Sasuke didn't give her any valuable information. "She's sane, you know. And she's gorgeous. It's a rare combination so you better tell Naruto how lucky he is."

Sasuke just stared at her without saying a word. "A hot girl likes Naruto," he said flatly, not breaking her gaze. It was hard enough for Sasuke to think that a girl in general could like Naruto but it was even harder to think that an attractive one would. And she was sane, supposedly. A million questions were running through his head but the most important one was, "why?"

Sakura grinned widely. There was a mischievous glint behind her eyes as she asked him, "are you jealous?"

He narrowed his eyes, not liking the way she was smiling deviously. It made him question the nature of her question. "What are you implying?" he asked suspiciously, setting his pen down on the table.

"Well everyone knows that you and Naruto are practically soulmates. It'd be a tragedy if a woman were to steal him away from you."

It was commonly acknowledged that Naruto and Sasuke's friendship went beyond bromance. The air between them was always tense and it was all up to individual opinion on whether that was because of their intense rivalry or some homoerotic undertones. The latter was a frequent subject of teasing from their other friends and that asshole of a brother Itachi, and whenever it was brought up it never failed to mortify both Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto would always try to defend his masculinity by proclaiming his love for girls and whatever body its and bits came with girls while Sasuke merely glared, annoyed and agitated to the highest extent.

Sasuke's glare intensified. "Don't go there," he said warningly.

"Yeah? And why not?" Sakura asked, unfazed by his tone.

A challenge sparked behind his onyx eyes. "Because the real tragedy would be if _I_ left Naruto. He'd be in pieces. I'd be fine." Sasuke smirked. It was damn sexy and it pissed Sakura off to no end. What was he trying to prove? She rolled her eyes.

"Are you implying that your company is that great? Because I'm telling you now, it's really not."

Sasuke scoffed, annoyed that his trick earlier hadn't flustered her like he assumed it would. "You're an anomaly. Your opinion doesn't count."

Sakura narrowed her eyes suspiciously, not knowing if he was subtly complimenting or insulting her. He said it in a completely neutral tone, so it was hard to figure out what he meant. In the end, she didn't know which way to take it so she settled with, "well congratulations, you'd make a great gigolo."

"If all else fails," he replied monotonously, not taking his eyes off of the worksheets in front of him.

Sakura couldn't stifle the chortle that escaped her. Unfortunately, she happened to be laughing at the precise moment when the conversations of her classmates died down simultaneously. The class was quiet as Kakashi's attention was raised by the noise.

"Sakura, Sasuke, get back to work," he said lazily, not taking his eyes off his orange book.

"Sorry sensei," Sakura said.

She noticed the stares of her female classmates without even having to look their way. Sakura supposed that they were probably taking the opportunity to stare at Sasuke – the boy was popular, after all. Few were brave or shameless enough to blatantly hit on him since the most they got for their efforts was usually a glare. Although most girls were intimidated by his unapproachable aura, it didn't stop them from admiring him from afar. Sakura was especially aware of the eyes that would glance in her and Sasuke's direction during the first week of class while Kakashi was off teaching some new scientific concept. Now that more time had passed the stares were getting easier to ignore, but it still annoyed her.

Sakura glanced at Sasuke from the corner of her eye. He was back to doing his homework and didn't acknowledge the attention he received. Instead of basking in it, the dark haired teen merely ignored everything. Sakura didn't know why that relieved her.

Sasuke initially came off as standoffish, and at first Sakura thought that that was because of arrogance. The more time she spent around him, the more she understood that he was just an introverted, private person. The impromptu dinner with Itachi turned Sakura's perception of him upside down. It was amusing but a tad disturbing to learn so much about Sasuke during the course of one dinner. Obviously, he never would've willingly surrendered the information by his own volition. It made her curious to know what else there was to him.

"What'd you get for number twelve?" he asked suddenly.

Sakura jolted herself out of her inner pondering. "Huh?" she mumbled unintelligently.

"Number twelve," Sasuke repeated. "I keep getting 9.4 degrees, but it doesn't match the check."

"Oh," Sakura said, looking down at her paper. She was still on the fifth question but that was just because her mind chose to muse on Sasuke's personality rather than do anything productive. Her eyes skimmed down to number twelve. She mentally visualized the equation and began to solve it in her head, looking upwards and muttering things along the way. "It's 14.1 degrees," she said after a while.

Sasuke just looked at her skeptically.

"What?" she asked.

"Just...you did that in your head." The question had been asking about the temperature of an unknown element after a few chemical processes. It involved many steps in order to solve and was by no means, a simple equation to be worked out mentally.

"Yeah, so?"

"You're like a calculator," he said.

Sakura smiled, having been told that by Ino before. "It might be wrong," she pointed out.

"No," Sasuke replied, plugging numbers into his calculator. "It's right."

"Well why don't you look at that."

Sasuke scoffed, impressed but not willing to show it. "Remind me to copy everything from you from now on."

"As if," she replied. "You're perfectly capable of finishing it on your own." She noticed that he always finished his work in class, sometimes even while Kakashi was teaching a lesson. He was pretty smart, so it wasn't like he needed her answers.

"Doesn't mean I want to."

Sakura contemplated this for a bit. It wouldn't really matter if he copied her homework because he wasn't incapable of doing it. She was used to people copying her homework during elementary school and getting nothing from it. The situation was different now, since Sasuke actually had something to offer. Sakura's expression lit up when she suddenly thought of something. "I've got the best idea," she said excitedly.

"You can copy my work all you want if you help me get Naruto with Hinata!" she practically squealed.

Sasuke cringed at the sheer frequency of her voice. It took a while for him to recover from the ringing in his ear, so there was a brief pause before he spoke. "Hinata," he repeated flatly, rubbing his ears. He never personally talked to the girl, but he knew of her nonetheless. "Your friend who likes Naruto is Hyuuga Hinata."

Sakura nodded. She wasn't worried that Sasuke would tell Naruto because he didn't exactly strike her as the type of person to spread secrets. "So? What do you say?" she asked eagerly.

Sasuke seemed to be thinking since he didn't say anything for a while. "Not just homework," he finally said. "I want your labs too. And I know you make study notes, so give me that before tests. Photocopies of your quizzes would also be good, but only the perfect ones."

"Anything else, Sasuke-sama?"

He ignored her sarcasm and shrugged. "That's it. Unless you'd object to giving sexual favours."

For a while Sakura just gaped. Did she hear him right? No...she definitely did. Sakura immediately wondered where normal, asexual Sasuke was. She missed him.

Sasuke took one look at her mortified expression and sighed deeply. He sent her an unimpressed stare that was probably meant to convey, _'Take a joke, Sakura.'_

"You – I can't believe that you just – Don't ever do that again!" she said, blushing furiously.

He raised an eyebrow, more amused at her reaction than anything. Sasuke was expecting some sort of feisty or unamused rebuttal based on her reactions to his previous smart-ass comments, but right now she appeared downright flustered. He had the audacity to chuckle.

"You asshole," she angrily whispered. The flaming colour in her face receded into a pink dusting of the cheeks.

It really wasn't her fault that Sasuke's comment caught her off guard. He always seemed so damn hormone-less that Sakura's mind could never connect Sasuke with anything remotely sexual. She was just joking every time she questioned his orientation, but deep down she truly believed he didn't have one. _'How silly of me. He's a teenage guy.'_

"Boys really are all perverts..." she muttered embarrassedly, not meeting his eyes.

Sasuke didn't say anything, but Sakura caught sight of him rolling his eyes from her peripheral vision.

The bell rang and Sakura packed up her books, gesturing a goodbye at Sasuke. He acknowledged her with a nod and she left the classroom, her embarrassment diminishing somewhat.

_-x-_

"Would you believe me if I told you that someone liked you?" Sasuke asked, slinging his backpack across one shoulder.

Naruto sent a suspicious sidelong glance to his best friend. They were walking in the hallway because their last class had ended, and now they were going to the cafeteria for lunch. Normally Sasuke didn't care about things like crushes, so it made Naruto slightly wary as to why he was choosing to bring the topic up. Besides, Naruto had a feeling that Sasuke wouldn't tell him if someone liked him because Sasuke wouldn't want to stroke his ego.

"No, probably not. Why does the bastard ask?"

Sasuke glared characteristically at the nickname. "It was a hypothetical question. I was just wondering."

Naruto raised an eyebrow suspiciously and continued walking at his leisurely pace. If he wasn't wary before, he was definitely wary now. "You never 'wonder' about things like that," he remarked. "Why? Does someone actually like me?"

"Of course not," Sasuke scoffed. He purposely added a harsh edge to his voice so that Naruto wouldn't continue to think along those lines. "Who would?"

This time it was Naruto's turn to glare. "Hey! I'm a way better catch than an asshole like you," he said haughtily, crossing his arms. "Girls don't exactly like guys with sticks up their asses all the time."

"And they'd like you instead?" Sasuke replied, prompting Naruto into yet another one of their many arguments.

"Bastard! I'll show you!"

People who were previously just hanging out by the hallways started to look at Naruto and Sasuke. It was inevitable since Naruto's voice could practically be heard on the other side of the building. Neither of the boys noticed nor cared, and they carried on with their argument, as per usual.

"Yeah? What are you going to do?"

"I don't know, but you're going to get it," Naruto mumbled angrily.

"Dobe," Sasuke glared.

"Teme!"

Sasuke was just about to say something to get the last word when the PA came on and interrupted him.

_'Hi everyone, this is Shizune-sensei speaking. I'd just like to remind all the seniors about the upcoming Senior Retreat this week. We'll leave for Grass in a few days, so be sure to finish packing all your things. Remember to bring insect repellent and sunscreen. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me."_

There was a buzz signaling the end of the announcement and Naruto turned to Sasuke. "Hey, that's what Sakura-chan and I have been planning! Oh, it's going to be so good. I can't wait."

It seemed like their earlier argument was completely forgotten about. That was typical of Naruto and Sasuke's relationship – it wasn't uncommon for them to be fighting in one second and completely forgetting about it in the next. The cycle repeated itself endlessly.

"Senior Retreat?" Sasuke asked. Sometimes he forgot that Sakura was in student council with Naruto. When he thought about it, he supposed that it made sense. Sakura and Naruto were generally known and liked by their peers since they were both sociable. Sasuke could easily picture Sakura being the president since she was anal about everything, but he really couldn't imagine Naruto taking any action about his responsibilities. The blond might have been Jiraiya by the way he ran things.

"Yeah, Grass is great. Sakura-chan got in touch with the resort people a few months ago and then I called just last week to confirm the reservation. You should see it, bastard. It's pretty damn awesome." He checked out the resort online, and the pictures were enough to make Naruto impatient to leave for Grass. The resort was made up of multiple one-storey buildings, all of which were constructed of wood in the classical Japanese architecture. It was located on a geothermal spring, so there were many onsens – there was even the option of bathing in rice water or rose water.

"I'm surprised you actually do something," Sasuke remarked as they reached the doors to the cafeteria. Most of the seats were taken and people were already eating their lunch.

Naruto pouted. "Of course I do stuff," he said defensively. He stopped walking and Sasuke did the same. "What do you think I did at Hashirama Senju?"

"Nothing happened at Hashirama Senju. It was a shit school," Sasuke returned flatly. The faculty seemed to tire of looking out for many students year after year, so most of the teachers gave up on creating a variety of clubs to create school spirit. As a result, the only extra-curricular activities offered were sports.

Naruto didn't seem to take offence to that. "Yeah, I guess you're right. KPA's pretty nice. And this time I don't have to do everything by myself."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "As if you did anything in Hashirama Senju."

"Oi, that's not true!"

"Naruto!" another, more feminine voice called from behind them.

Both Sasuke and Naruto turned around to face the source of the voice. It was none other than Sakura, who was sitting at a table with Ino, Kiba and an extremely flustered looking Hinata.

Naruto smiled upon seeing them and headed toward their table. "Hey guys," he said amiably. He greeted Kiba by gripping his hand and the two lightly bumped shoulders.

"Hey man, long time no see," Kiba said, flashing a grin. He nodded toward Sasuke. "'Sup, Sasuke? How've you been?"

Sasuke shrugged in reply.

Kiba laughed at the expected response, or lack of one. While the boys still went to Hashirama Senju, Kiba occasionally hung out with Naruto and Sasuke, so the brunette was used to Sasuke's behaviour.

"You guys want to sit down?" Sakura asked, gesturing toward the empty seats. Ino was sitting in between her and Kiba while Hinata sat across from them. "You can sit beside Hinata, Naruto," she said, not caring to be subtle.

"Sure," Naruto said, slipping into the empty seat beside Hinata. He was completely oblivious to the way she was blushing as he put his backpack on the floor.

Sasuke set his things down and sat beside Naruto. Sakura was sitting across from him and she smiled in greeting. "Hey," she said. "Hinata, Ino, do you guys know Sasuke?"

"Y-yes, I know Uchiha-san," Hinata said, twiddling her fingers. They knew each other long before going to the same school, since both came from prestigious families. Naturally, prestigious families liked to be friendly with other prestigious families, so the Hyuugas were familiar with the Uchihas, and vice versa. While on this train of thought, Sasuke absently wondered why he didn't recognize Sakura's ex boyfriend. He was definitely a Hyuuga with his distinctive eyes and long dark hair. In the end Sasuke theorized that he wasn't part of the main family, and so that's why they never met.

Ino nodded as she swallowed her food. "We saw each other that one time in the lobby," she said while smirking at Sakura. The pink haired girl glared and blushed simultaneously at the memory of their conversation. "But I don't think we've formally met. I'm Ino," she said friendlily.

"Hn," Sasuke replied.

Sakura rolled her eyes, wondering why Sasuke thought that grunts could replace sentences. Thankfully Ino didn't get offended at Sasuke's indifference. She was back to flirting with Kiba like the world was coming to an end, so all was well. Sakura tuned out their conversation and focused on Naruto and Hinata's instead.

"So how's everything, Hinata-chan?"

"Fine," she replied shyly. "How about you, Naruto-kun?" In her head, Sakura was silently cheering Hinata on. She was proud of the dark haired girl's progress; now she was actually able to respond to Naruto's casual inquiries without stuttering or blushing fiercely. And she was even continuing the conversation.

"I guess everything's cool. I just hate how much work Asuma-sensei gives us though."

"Um yeah...I feel the same," she said quietly.

"I mean, it seemed like it was only two days ago when you and I finished that stupid group project. Now he's giving us another major project. I think I'm going to die," he said, sighing dramatically.

Naruto didn't notice that Hinata was averting her gaze or that she was gripping the hem of her blouse tightly. He assumed a relaxed posture, slouching his back and stretching his legs. Naruto always had a casual air about him, Sakura observed. His dress shirt was never buttoned up fully and it always looked wrinkled, even though he must have only bought it when the school year started. Naruto also rolled up his sleeves and never wore the school tie, even though all the guys were supposed to. Come to think of it, Sasuke was the same way. He didn't seem to worry about looking polished, so he wore his shirt the same way as Naruto. The difference was that Sasuke wore the tie, albeit halfheartedly.

It was a good thing, Sakura decided. Ties were sexy. Sasuke was sexy. Sasuke wearing a tie? Well that was just damn –

"You're not very subtle, you know," a familiar voice suddenly spoke across from her.

Sakura made a noise of mortification and her heart started to pump. "Subtle? What do you mean?" she asked, hoping that he wouldn't be able to pick up on the higher pitch of her voice.

Fortunately, he didn't. "Your staring," he said as he nodded toward Naruto and Hinata, "is obvious."

Sakura inwardly breathed a heavy sigh of relief. She took a moment to gather her thoughts before speaking. "Oh, that. Shut up."

Sasuke sipped from his water bottle and took a bite of his tomato. He and Sakura ate in silence as Kiba and Ino talked and Naruto and Hinata talked.

Her eyes traveled to Kiba and Ino. They seemed to be having fun, since Ino was always smiling and laughing at something Kiba said. The two were still hanging out and going on dates but they weren't exclusive yet.

Sakura was happy for her friends since both of them seemed to be on their way to a good relationship. She wanted to join in on the fun too, but she never really took any interest in dating after her relationship with Neji. "He ruined you," Ino, ever dramatic, would say after Sakura admitted this. "You two might as well not have been together. Seriously, six months and all you did was kiss? What are you, eleven?"

Needless to say, Sakura's love life had been practically non-existent before and after her relationship with Neji. It was considered a tragedy by Ino, who never failed to tell Sakura how she would lose her looks with age, and then nobody would want her anymore. The pink haired girl would always shrug off Ino's comments (_warnings_, she insisted), which never failed to annoy her blonde friend. Fortunately, as of now Ino was preoccupied with her own relationship status to worry about Sakura's. She was grateful for that.

"...and then there was Sai, who was a total asshole. He was really hot though. Sakura remembers him. Right, Sakura?"

"What?" Sakura asked, not following the conversation. She was lost in her thoughts and the mention of her name was what brought her out of her daydreaming.

"Sai," Ino repeated. "My ex-boyfriend? He was the one you hated because he kept calling you ugly."

Ah. "Right. Him," she said lowly. Sai and Ino had dated for a few weeks in ninth grade. They broke up because of the classic 'my best friend hates you' excuse, though there wasn't much to miss about the relationship. After all, Sai and Ino only liked each other because of physical reasons.

"Someone called you ugly?" Naruto asked, raising his head in curiosity. His tone was purely inquiring.

"I was going through an awkward phase," Sakura explained flatly. Freshman year had definitely not been good to her. She was a late bloomer, so while Ino was flaunting her new assets and overall mature look, Sakura was stuck with the training bras and disproportionately sized head.

Ino chortled loudly. "'Awkward phase?' Please, that's putting it lightly." she faced the others. "We were fourteen. She was so thin and her forehead was _huge_. Plus she had no boobs at all –"

"Okay! That's enough," Sakura said with false cheer. She turned to Ino. "...Bitch," she muttered lowly.

Across from her, Sasuke stifled a laugh in a cough.

"What?" she asked, annoyed. It wasn't fun to have her best friend bring up something humiliating and it was worse when people laughed at her for it. "Is this funny or something?"

"Yeah," he said with a smirk. Sakura was just about to tell him off in genuine irritation when Ino spoke again.

"Don't worry. You're better, now that you're all filled out," Ino said, gesturing to her own chest. She shot Sakura a half smile and for some reason, her tone turned apologetic in a way that only the pink haired girl could catch from years of friendship.

"Oh, that's reassuring." Sakura replied. She was less pissed off than before, but a touch of annoyance still crept its way into her tone. "Why are we talking about Sai anyway?" she asked, trying to change the topic.

Kiba swallowed what he was chewing before speaking. "I was asking about Ino's exes," he explained.

Sakura blinked twice and then laughed when she registered what Kiba said. Ino was one of those girls who always had a boyfriend and when she didn't, she still went on plenty of dates. "You might as well have asked for the names of everyone in Konoha."

"Oh har har," Ino said, rolling her eyes. "How did our dear Forehead get so funny?"

Sakura stuck her tongue out childishly and Ino responded by flicking a grain of rice on her face. The pink haired girl scrunched her nose in response.

Lunch continued with light conversation. Everyone had finished eating so they spent the rest of the time talking. Kiba and Ino continued to hit on each other but the rest spoke amongst each other. After forty minutes the bell rang and everybody packed up their things. They said goodbye to each other and got ready to go to their next class.

Naruto and Hinata had their next period with each other and when they walked out together, both Sakura and Ino directed suggestive looks at the dark haired girl. Naturally, Naruto was ignorant of it all. Hinata, on the other hand, turned crimson and began to stammer every time she said something to Naruto. The girls merely laughed good-heartedly at Hinata's expense.

_-x-_

"Hey Sak, do you think I'll need this?" Ino asked, holding up a skimpy red bikini top.

Sakura looked up from her laptop screen and raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you already pack your one piece?"

"Yeah," Ino said with a heavy sigh, "but that's a one-piece. It's boring. I'm only packing it because teachers are going to be there, and I don't exactly want to show them everything my mother gave me."

The school day had ended and it was approximately ten at night. The sun had set and everything was blanketed in the darkness outside. Sakura and Ino were back in their room and the latter was currently packing her clothes for the upcoming retreat to Grass. Sakura already had her bags ready, having packed them earlier on in the week. They were staying in Grass for four days and three nights, so people had to pack accordingly.

"Why are you even packing a swimsuit?" Sakura asked. "If you're thinking of swimming in the lake, you know that the water's going to be freezing, right?"

"It's not for the lake, silly. I want to go to the onsen and apparently the resort doesn't allow you to go in nude. It sucks."

Sakura giggled lightly – of course Ino would be upset that she wasn't allowed to be naked. "I'm pretty sure they mean that you just have to wear a towel," she pointed out. "That's what most hot springs mean when they say you have to be fully clothed."

"Really? That's so confusing," Ino said, frustrated. She threw the bikini top into a nearby laundry hamper. "So much for that. Should I unpack my one piece too, then? It's on the bottom of my suitcase though..."

"I really don't think it matters. If you already packed it, just keep it."

"You think?" Ino said, reaching toward her vanity. She grabbed her makeup bag and stuffed it into her bag. "Packing is so stressful."

Sakura continued typing. "It's not so bad," she muttered, turning her attention back to the paper she was busy typing.

"I'm looking forward to Grass, but one suitcase really isn't enough for four days. Seriously."

"The bus has limited space," Sakura explained. "And your suitcase is already so huge." Ino definitely had no shortage on clothes and shoes. As a result, she hated wearing the same clothes within a short time frame. Sakura rolled her eyes inwardly; she loved Ino, but no one could deny that her father spoiled her rotten.

"Still! Only one? That's doesn't even cover two days!"

"Oh shut it, you." Sakura's parents were successful surgeons in their own respective fields, but her mother had been adamant that they lived in a modest house and Sakura worked to get what she wanted. This often frustrated Sakura, especially after she witnessed how Ino practically blew her money, but she got used to her parents' rules after seventeen years of living by them.

Ino zipped up her overstuffed suitcase with slight trouble and laid on her bed. "I give up. This is pathetic," she said, slinging a hand over her forehead.

"Look at it," Sakura gestured to her suitcase. "You're practically done."

"Not really, but it'll have to do."

Sakura shook her head, not understanding what else Ino would need to pack. "You're more than set. Besides, it's not like we're meeting any new hot guys or anything. You're not impressing anyone."

"Nuh uh," Ino said, sitting upright again. "Kiba, remember? He's barely seen me outside our stupid uniform."

The girls had to wear a kilt, knee socks, a blouse and requisite black shoes for every school day. Girls didn't have to wear the tie the way the guys did, and they also had the choice of wearing a blazer. They were allowed to change into normal clothes once school had ended but most stayed in their school clothes until the night-time, when they changed to sleep.

"I like our uniform," Sakura remarked chirpily. "It's very schoolgirl-y. That's supposed to be hot, you know."

Sakura personally thought that Ino looked pretty good in the uniform. Ino purposely bought her blouses a size smaller, just so they would hug her curves better. She had her skirt hemmed to end halfway down her thigh, and she would also unbutton the first two buttons of her blouse so a hint of ample cleavage could be seen. There was a reason why Ino was popular with the boys, Sakura thought.

She just wished she possessed half the balls that the blonde did. Sakura never felt comfortable showing that much skin, so she usually just tucked her blouse into her kilt and wore a blazer on top. It gave her a conservative and posh look, as opposed to the sultry and sexy vibe that Ino perpetually gave off.

Ino scoffed. "Please! I've only seen Hinata pull off the schoolgirl look. The rest of us look damn stupid in loafers."

"True," she agreed quickly. "Oh! Have you seen her and Naruto lately? They're getting along pretty well."

"Tell me about it," Ino said, excited to be discussing something more interesting. "I always see them walking together now. I get that they have the same classes and all, but _still_."

"They'd be really cute. Do you think that Naruto will stop being so oblivious one day?" Judging by how thick Naruto was when it came to romantic matters, it could've taken him months to realize Hinata's affections. Sakura wanted to groan.

"Probably not," Ino shrugged, not sounding worried as Sakura expected her to be. "It doesn't matter though, because that's what we're for."

The two friends laughed, and suddenly Sakura turned off her laptop and slumped on her bed stomach first. "I'm tired," she said, yawning shortly thereafter. Her words were slightly incoherent because she mumbled them into the pillow. "I'm going to sleep." She was almost finished her paper anyway, and it wasn't like it was due anytime soon.

"Seriously? It's ten." Ino said. It was characteristic for Sakura to be so infuriatingly good. Going to bed early and nearly finishing a paper not due for weeks? She wanted to roll her eyes.

"Mhmm," came the mumbled response from the bed.

This time, Ino hadn't bothered to stifle her scoff. "You're so PG-13," she said, clicking her tongue in a reproaching manner. She really wanted her to stop being so goody-two-shoes all the time. Maybe meet a guy. Hopefully one who didn't spend all day discussing fate and the philosophy and whatnot.

Sakura's reply was deep, even breathing, and Ino took that as evidence that she was already sleeping. It never failed to surprise her how fast she could fall asleep. Ino sighed wearily, closing her eyes. They remained closed for a while, as she thought long and hard about something. When she opened them again, her clear blue irises were set in resolve.

From the perch of her own bed she studied Sakura's sleeping form clinically, observing the details of her friend's face with an objective eye. Sakura was pretty enough. She had delicate, feminine features that could be further enhanced by makeup, if only Sakura would let her put on the stuff. She frowned. There were many things that she could do for Sakura, but Ino knew how much her friend hated the heaviness of beauty products. That immediately canceled out Ino's fantasy of giving her a makeover.

Even if she did go through with it, the effort would be largely unnecessary. It wasn't Sakura's looks that were keeping her single. Although she wasn't living up to her potential, Ino thought agitatedly, Sakura was still an attractive girl. _'But she doesn't even present herself like one,_' she thought. Maybe that was it? It was possible that Sakura was too friendly that guys forgot that she was a girl and looked at her as only a 'friend' option.

Ino slumped back into her bed, at a loss for what to do. She truthfully didn't know why her friend rarely, if ever, got asked out. Sakura always brushed it off and told her that she didn't care about those things, but it couldn't have possibly been good for her self-esteem. Ino never let on, but secretly she worried about Sakura. She usually made inconsiderate and shallow remarks out of habit, but the blonde felt genuinely sorry when she put some things in retrospect.

Her mind made up, Ino pursed her lips in determination. Senior year was supposed to be the most fun and memorable year, and she wasn't going to let Sakura miss out on anything. It was decided.

Sakura was going to find a guy before the year ended.

* * *

**I love Ino. As shallow and inconsiderate she seems I think that she really does have a genuine caring side reserved for the people she loves. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter; it's approximately 8000 words, which is more than I typically write. I prefer this length, so expect the future chapters to be just as long. And just to clarify, there was a brief time skip at the beginning of the chapter. A couple of weeks passed since the events on chapter 5.**


	7. Chapter 7

I haven't updated in so long that even_ I _forgot what was happening...oops! Anyway, thought I'd do a recap: -everyone is on the four day senior retreat to Kusagakure (Village Hidden in Grass) -everyone knows about Hinata's crush on Naruto (except Naruto, naturally) and everyone ships them. The gang tries to get them together at every opportunity (except Sasuke because he couldn't care less) -Ino and Kiba are dating but they're not boyfriend-girlfriend -Ino thinks Sakura's too uptight and is trying to get her to loosen up -Sasuke and Sakura have a good friendship forming (it's platonic atm) but because he's anti-social and doesn't talk to other girls, his fanbase will start to get irritated with Sakura

And those are the main points. Without further ado, here's the seventh chapter!

* * *

Days flew by and soon enough the seniors were set to leave on their retreat. The class was going to Kusa with a coach bus. Originally, Ino was supposed to sit with Kiba while Hinata sat with Sakura, and Sasuke with Naruto. After creating some barely passable excuse about how Sakura contracted a symptom-less yet very contagious disease that Hinata's poor immune system couldn't fend off, Naruto and Sakura switched seats. Naturally, no one else but Naruto bought the lie.

"A symptom-less yet very contagious disease?" Sasuke said with a raised eyebrow as Sakura stowed her small bag in the overhead compartment above his seat.  
"What?" she asked.

"This is coming from the future doctor," he said. She sat down beside him in the aisle seat.

"Simple is good. We're dealing with Naruto, remember?" Sakura glanced at Naruto and Hinata, who were sitting one row ahead of them. "Besides, they don't seem to be complaining."

Sasuke scoffed. "Too bad I have to pay."

Sakura frowned. "What does that mean?"

"If you really had a disease then I'd be the one that got sick," he explained.

"Yeah, but we would care about Hinata more. See? Everything works out."

Sakura settled herself in her seat and Sasuke rolled his eyes. She took out a book and began to read.

The engine started up and the bus began to move. Pairs were talking among themselves and all the chatter became indistinct noise to Sasuke's ears. He closed his eyes, leaned his head back and placed each hand on an armrest. Now that Naruto wasn't going to sit with him he would be able to sleep.

He dozed off within minutes. He wasn't sure exactly what he dreamed of, but after a long time he vaguely registered a weight on his shoulder that his subconscious didn't seem averse to. Sasuke wasn't sure if that was a dream or not, seeing as he was roused to half-slumber so the line between reality and dreaming was hazy. He remembered shifting a bit to accommodate for the weight but everything after that was lost on him.

A couple of hours later, he woke up. The bus had come to a complete stop and being a moderately light sleeper, Sasuke woke up. The first thing he registered was the rich forestry and the endless rolling hills to his right. They seemed to have arrived in Kusa. Sasuke was about to roll his shoulders to stretch after waking up but in his not fully alert state he realized that something was preventing the movement. When he looked to his left he saw that Sakura's head was resting comfortably on the crook of his neck. Her body was angled in his direction and the sides of their arms were pressed against each other. The warmth of her breath tickled his shoulder.

Were they like this for the entire bus ride? Sasuke mentally groaned. If Naruto saw them, he'd never let him hear the end of it.

Deciding that he shouldn't let the scene continue on any longer, he gently shook Sakura's shoulder to wake her up. Her eyes blinked open and she gradually sat upright.

"Did I fall asleep on you?" she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes to adjust to the afternoon light.

"Hn."

"Sorry about that," she mumbled.

"It's fine," Sasuke mumbled, though he realized that he didn't mind.

"Alright kids," Kakashi said from the front of the bus. "Wakey wakey! We're here."

A couple of half awake groans came from different directions and people started to grab their things to leave.

"I'll get our bags," Sakura said, getting up from her seat. "What's yours look like?"

"Blue. Should be behind yours."

Most people were standing up now. Ahead of them, Kiba was scrounging for his bag but Ino was waiting patiently. Sakura saw her standing by herself and approached her.

The blond greeted her friend with a smirk and glint in her eyes. Sakura raised a brow.

"I saw you, you know. I was looking back to see Hinata and Naruto, but instead I see you and the Uchiha cozying it up," Ino said, nudging Sakura. "And here we thought you were taking one for the team."

"Ino!" Sakura said fiercely. Her cheeks were beginning to flush. "No–it was an accident. And stop," her voice was reduced to a small whisper. "He can hear you."

Ino looked in Sasuke's direction. He looked as reserved and detached from his environment as ever.

"Doesn't look like it," she said.

Before Sakura could respond, Kiba returned to Ino's side.

"Hey Sakura," he greeted amiably. "What are you guys talking about?"

Ino laughed and Sakura's face reddened further.

"Nothing," Ino said, smiling at her friend. "Now that everyone's ready, are we all good to to go up to the resort?"Sakura nodded mutely. Ino was talking animatedly with Kiba but Sakura didn't register what they were saying. She looked over her shoulder to find two girls looking at her, whispering. The second she met their gaze they averted their eyes.

It was easy to guess what they were talking about. She wanted to groan. She and Sasuke were asleep for hours so everyone on the bus must have seen them. It was becoming more obvious lately–the stares and hushed whispers from other girls. A pattern was forming. It would only occur after she was around Sasuke for some reason or another.

As much as Sakura told herself that being talked about didn't bother her, the truth was it did. Sakura didn't like not knowing what people were saying about her. Under the confidence she fortified through the years with Ino's help, she was still concerned with what people thought of her. She worked to be well liked and didn't want her hard work to go to waste. Besides, those girls really didn't have anything to hate her for. It was Sasuke's fault for not waking up! It was Sasuke's fault that people were gossiping about her! With a furrow in her brow, she grabbed both their bags. He casually began a conversation when she returned his but she gave a noncommittal response and blatantly dismissed him. She quickly walked away and didn't catch his mildly confused expression.

_._

_._

The first thing everyone did when they alighted was find their rooms and unpack their bags. The girls and boys were on different floors. They were given half an hour to unpack and after that they were supposed to meet in the lobby. Kusa was a popular tourist site and the resort they were staying in was in the entertainment district. The chaperones allowed everyone to explore town independently. It went without saying that Ino, Hinata, Sakura, Naruto, Kiba and Sasuke were going to travel together.

"What do you guys want to hit up first?" Naruto asked when they left the lobby.

"Food. I'm so hungry. I haven't eaten since before the bus ride," Kiba said.

"Oh, I wonder if there's a good ramen place around," Naruto enthusiastically said.

"No, there's enough ramen in Konoha. Let's try some local food," Ino suggested.

There were food stands lining the road they were traveling on. Kiba was leading Ino by the waist and Hinata and Naruto weren't touching, but they were walking closely. Behind them, Sakura and Sasuke were walking together. There was enough space between them that another person could fit in and neither was making an attempt at conversation. This was characteristic for Sasuke but he found it weird how Sakura wasn't saying anything. She usually liked to talk for the sake of talking and even her body language toward him was closed off. It was uncanny. Just an hour before they were talking normally and now it was obvious she was trying to ignore him. He tried to think of something he unknowingly did to piss off or upset her but gave up about three seconds in when he was struck with the perfect explanation: _Girls._

"This looks good," Ino said, after passing a stall that looked moderately busy. It sold every type of food on a skewer, from candy to meat to vegetables. There was no formal seating, just a couple of wooden park tables. "Sakura, Sasuke, can you two grab a table so no one takes it?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said. They claimed a table and Sakura still didn't say anything.

"What's with you?" he asked at last.

"What do you mean?"

"You're acting weird."

She nervously averted her gaze and started picking imaginary dust off of her jeans. "No I'm not."

Sasuke just stared at her, unimpressed. Sakura thought he'd stop sometime but he just kept staring. She started to feel herself crack under the pressure.

"It's just some things these girls said about me, okay?" she blurted.

Sasuke looked confused. Sakura didn't strike him as the type to worry about such things. "You're upset because of gossip?"

"No I'm not! It's just–you wouldn't understand."

Now he looked even more confused.

"Forget it, Sasuke!" she snapped. "It's not about you, you know. Not everything's about you."

Sasuke put his hands up in surrender. "Okay. Not like I brought myself up or anything."

"You're impossible!" Sakura said, angrily stomping toward the food line. At the same time, Ino and Kiba returned with some grilled beef and peppers on a skewer. Kiba's head turned as he watched Sakura angrily walk toward the food stand.

"What's with her?" he asked, flicking a thumb toward Sakura's direction.

Sasuke didn't say anything and just shook his head in confusion.

Ino snorted. "Don't worry about it. Sakura always gets like this. She'll be better once she eats."

It turned out that Ino's claim was only half true. Sakura did seem to be in a better mood since she wasn't snapping at Sasuke out of nowhere anymore. She still, however, wasn't talking to him. Sasuke just sighed inwardly and hoped she was just going through one of those...feminine things...and that it would pass.

"What do you guys want to see?" Naruto asked as he munched on three skewers at the same time. "There's some popular tourist sites near us, I think."

He was the only one eating. Naturally he would be the one to order the most food, so the group had to wait for him to finish before they left.

"We can just walk around. We're bound to see stuff," Kiba suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Ino said. She pointed eastward to a mountain range. "Let's go that way. The scenery is prettier."

Kusa was a very scenic place. It was rich in forestry and had many deep ravines running through the town. The roads were made of cobblestone and paths were lined with bamboo. When Naruto was finally done eating, the group began following a path, 'ooh-ing' and 'aah-ing' the pretty landscape around them and not really focusing on where they were headed. They only stopped walking when their attention was collectively caught by a temple made entirely of bamboo and surrounded by ponds filled with lotus flowers and koi. Many people were kneeling at the facade of the building, bringing their hands together in prayer.

"What's this?" Hinata asked quietly.

The air was rich with the smell of burning incense. A middle-aged man had finished his prayers, set fire to a piece of paper in his hand, then walked away from the temple and into the direction of the teenagers.

"Um, excuse me," Sakura said, catching him as he left. "Hi, we were just wondering what this temple is for? We're not from around here," she explained.

"Oh, hello," he said. "This is the Temple of Wishes. You just ask the monks for a paper doused with juniper oil, write your wishes for the year and say a prayer. Once you're finished you burn it, and that signifies that your wish is not in your control, but in the gods'," he explained kindly.

Sakura smiled. "Thank you," she said.

"You're welcome," he replied. "After all, it's never a problem to help out a lovely young woman like yourself." He walked away casually, leaving Sakura blushing.

"Aw, he called you 'lovely', how nice!" Ino said laughingly once he was out of earshot.

"More like creepy," Sasuke mumbled quietly.

"Why don't we try wishing on the temple?" Hinata suggested.

"That sounds like a great idea Hinata-chan!" Naruto exclaimed. "I know exactly what I'm going to wish for."

Naruto was already headed toward one of the monks that everyone else had no choice but to follow. Sakura walked at a leisurely pace, her previous blush diminishing. Everyone split up, looking for a monk to give them the special juniper paper.

Sakura eventually spotted one by his shaved head and robes. She asked him for a piece of paper and headed toward the temple where candles were burning on a pedestal. The flame from the candles was used to set the wish on fire. Sakura said a quick prayer then grabbed a calligraphy pen from the pedestal. She thought for a bit then began to write her wishes for the year._ 'Peace of mind. Eternal friendships.'_

Sakura was ready to burn the wish but she felt something was missing. She felt uneasy asking for more, but at the same time, she wasn't satisfied with what she wrote down. After a minute of contemplation, she set her pen on the paper wrote once more.

_'Love.' _

_._

_._

Being at the temple seemed to clear Sakura's mind a little. It was easy for her to get wrapped up in trivial things and she didn't realize how small some of her worries were until she put it into perspective. Like the whole gossiping thing. It wasn't as if she'd never been gossiped about before. As a child, her forehead took care of that.

Biting her lip uncertainly, she thought about the events that transpired throughout the day. Sure, some girls were probably (most likely) saying not nice things about her, but that wasn't a justification for being snappy toward all of her friends. And a huge fat Bitchy McBitch to Sasuke. Speaking of Sasuke...

Sasuke was standing all by himself at the entrance to the temple. He was probably done and was waiting for everyone else to finish up.

Sakura cautiously approached him, unsure if he'd be cold to her just because she had been cold to him. Her worries were squashed when he looked her way and nodded in greeting.

"Hey," she said.

"You finished?"

"Yup. Burned all my wishes."

He nodded again and stuffed his hands inside his pockets.

There was a brief silence. "Hey...look. I'm sorry for being all snappy before," Sakura rubbed the back of her neck. "You didn't do anything wrong."

Sasuke blinked. He wasn't expecting that. "Uh...apology accepted."

Sakura smiled weakly. At the same moment, Kiba, Ino, Hinata and Naruto walked toward them.

"I'm telling you, I'll be the leader of Konoha one day! It's gotta happen, 'cause I wished it!" Naruto bellowed.

"Idiot, now it won't. You're not supposed to tell people your wishes," Ino said, smacking Naruto upside the head.

"Ow, Ino! That hurt!"

Hinata was working on soothingly rubbing the spot where Ino hit Naruto. "It's alright, Naruto-kun. You don't need to wish for it to happen. Your determination is enough," she admitted shyly.

Naruto beamed. "You think so, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata blushed.

"Guys? Hello?" Sakura said. They didn't seem to notice her or Sasuke standing about two meters away.

"Oh, 'sup Sakura," Kiba greeted. "Feeling better? Done your period?"

Sakura's left eye began to twitch dangerously.

"Uh, Kiba?" Ino said. "I take it back. Naruto's not the idiot here. Wow, that's such a nice mountain. Let's look at it together, Sakura." She dragged Sakura away by the hand and ignored the protruding vein in her friend's forehead.

Huh? What'd I do?" Kiba asked.

"Dumbass," Sasuke mumbled.

.

.

Individual exploring time was over and everyone had to head back to the resort for roll call. Next on the itinerary was the onsen and afterward, a spa treatment for girls and massage for guys. Later they would have dinner at the resort.

"This is so nice," Hinata sighed as she daintily stepped into the onsen. "I can't believe you and Naruto-kun planned this."

Sakura exhaled deeply, feeling relaxed. Her face was flushed from the heat of the water and the steam and she was submerged to her shoulders. Ino was there too, wearing her skimpy bathing suit. Sakura simply opted for a bandeau and swimming shorts while Hinata was the most modest, donning a towel.

"Ne Hinata, aren't you hot?" Ino asked, waddling in her own area. She let her long hair down from its perpetual ponytail and it pooled all around her.

The onsen they were in was separated from the male area with a bamboo wall. The steaming water was bordered by rocks and the walls of the onsen were entirely wooden to insulate the heat. Sakura found the nearly scalding water very therapeutic, though Hinata looked uncomfortable in the heat.

"You should probably take the towel off," Sakura suggested while lightly paddling the water around her. "You'll feel better that way."

"Ah...um, I'll keep the towel on," Hinata said, turning red. Sakura wasn't sure if it was because of the heat or because blushing was just a Hinata thing.

"Why? You're getting all sweaty." Ino pointed out bluntly.

Hinata reddened further. "It's just...I-I'm not wearing anything under..."

"HINATA'S NAKED?" Ino yelled. Her voice was loud enough that it filled the entire onsen. It was silent for a good moment when all the female occupants turned around to stare at Ino and Hinata, the latter of which was blushing down to her shoulders and looked like she was ready to be drowned at any ramoment.

Suddenly a splash and some muffled swearing was heard from the other side.

Sakura turned her head toward the direction of the sound. "Did you guys hear that?"

Ino furrowed her brows in contemplation. Hinata still looked too mortified to say anything.

"Sounded like it came from the guy's side. Probably two morons trying to drown each other," Ino reasoned.

Sakura didn't look too convinced but nodded anyway. "Yeah...I guess."

On the other side of the bamboo wall, Kiba was dunking Naruto's head into the water.

"Kiba–" Naruto wheezed as he resurfaced. Kiba grabbed his hair and shoved him into the water again. Some bubbles came out of the water since Naruto was trying to say something. Eventually he broke from Kiba's hold and started gasping for air and coughing out the water in his lungs.

"You–jerk!" Naruto wheezed.

"You deserved it, perv." Kiba said unapologetically.

Naruto was trying to look at the girls' bathing area through the tiny slits of space between each bamboo stalk. Sasuke ignored him while Kiba stuck around to see how long it'd take for him to get a nosebleed. That moment eventually came when Ino's unmistakable voice shrilled through the room and announced that Hinata was naked.

Naruto nearly had a fit. Kiba, who had been friends with Hinata for a long time, found it necessary to defend her virtue. Ergo, repeatedly trying to drown Naruto.

"Don't act like you weren't trying to sneak a peek too, Kiba," Naruto said, pouting and crossing his arms.

Sasuke just sighed and muttered to himself. "I'm surrounded by idiots."

"Shut up Sasuke," Naruto automatically retaliated.

"Don't look at me," Kiba said. "I wasn't doing anything."

"Yeah right! You would've looked at Ino. Or Sakura-chan. Whatever."

"No I wouldn't."

"You would too."

"I don't have to spy on a bathing area to see naked girls," Kiba said with a cocky smirk.

"Right, with all the porn you watch!"

"Why you–" he launched himself at Naruto and started plunging his head into the water. Again. When Naruto surfaced he gave Kiba a noogie and tried to push him down by grabbing a his shoulders. All the loud splashing and swearing was attracting the attention of the other occupants, specifically the male chaperones.

"Uzumaki! Inuzuka! Uchiha! Go back to your rooms now!" Asuma yelled.

Sasuke whipped his head to Asuma's direction. "It was those two–"

"Don't care. You three, leave. Now."

"See what you did Kiba?" Naruto said childishly.

"Me? It was all you!"

"It's true," Sasuke said flatly.

"Bastard! We're supposed to be bros!"

Asuma looked unimpressed. "You boys have five seconds or else you'll be going straight back to Konoha for misbehavior."

Kiba looked indignant. Sasuke glared.

"Five..."

"Okay, okay, we're out," Naruto said. They all eventually left the onsen with muttered curses.

When the door firmly shut behind them, Asuma's turned to Kakashi, who looked absolutely indifferent toward he entire situation.

"Remember when we used to be like that?" He said, calmly resuming his bath.

Kakashi leaned deeper into the water. "Sometimes I wish I could forget."

.

.

"I hate you all," Sasuke announced when they reached their room. They had to stay with their roommates so Sasuke and Naruto were roomed together. Kiba didn't want to be confined in his room by himselfso he just followed along.

"We love you too Sasuke," Kiba replied sarcastically.

"Heh, I don't," Naruto said. "We're going to miss our massage now," he realized with a frown.

The guys were going to be treated to a massage after the onsen but Asuma told them later that they weren't allowed to come downstairs until dinner time.

Sasuke glared at him. "And whose fault is that?"

"This really sucks," Kiba said, plopping down dramatically on the bed. "You really couldn't have creeped on the girls some other time, could you?"

"I wasn't creeping. I was doing legitimate research for Ero-Sennin."

"There's a reason why Jiraiya's the head of an all-_boys _school. It's because of this 'research,'" Kiba said.

Sasuke scoffed. Naruto just shrugged and yawned. "Can't believe we're stuck here for the next few hours." He blinked at the ceiling a few times in boredom then suddenly flashed a grin when he realized something. "Did anyone bring any Icha Icha?"

.

.

While the boys were cooped up in their room, the girls were busy being treated to a spa treatment. This included massages, facials, and getting their hair and nails done. Suffice to say, when the girls left the spa they were very content.

"Sakura, you won't believe it. The worst thing just happened to me."

Though Ino was always harder to please than most.

She walked into their room with an angry stride and immediately pouted and crossed her arms. The blonde was looking many times more radiant and beautiful as she did normally, and that itself spoke volumes. Her hair was still in its signature ponytail but it was styled differently so that her bangs were pinned up in a pouf. Her already dewy skin was glowing even more and her light blue eyes shone bright. Sometimes Sakura forgot how stunning her best friend was until she saw her with different eyes.

"What is it, Ino?"

"I met the rudest person alive!"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. She was busy trying to pick out an outfit for the dinner that night. The resort had a formal dinner hall that the students and chaperones were dining in for the first evening in Grass. She was getting stressed because she couldn't find the halter dress she reserved for nice occasions in her suitcase.

"I was trying to get into the building and he was just taking up the entire doorway. And he was smoking too! Ew, right? I'm pretty sure he got the smell in my hair. I just got it washed! Anyway, I just told him, 'hey, mind getting out of the way?' And he pinned me with this blank stare, and he just stared at me apathetically. His smoke was getting into my eyes then I was just like, 'Pineapple Head, move!' and he wouldn't! I pushed him and he called me an annoying banshee. Who does that?" She exclaimed.

"Whu..." Sakura said, not really paying attention. Her arms were still digging through her suitcase.

"Sakura, were you even listening?" Ino demanded angrily.

"I don't know. All I heard was 'Pineapple Head'. Where is my dress?"

"This guy called me a banshee!"

"How fitting. Ino, have you seen that cream dress I like?"

"What, the ugly one you wear all the time?"

"I don't wear it all the time. And–hey, it's not ugly."

"Yes you do, and yes, it is. I think you left it at KPA, thank goodness."

"No, no I didn't. Oh wait, I did. No!"

"Relax, Sakura. I have an extra."

"Relax? What am I going to wear now? Oh wait, you do?"

"Yeah. I'll let you use it if you let me get you ready for dinner."

Sakura immediately sent a wary glance her way.

"Oh, please! Don't look at me like that. Go show up to a nice dinner in jeans for all I care."

"Wait, I didn't say no!" Sakura pleaded.

Ino smiled instantly and Sakura glared. She should have known Ino was manipulating her.

"Great!" the blonde said, clapping her hands excitedly. "Here's the dress," Ino said, throwing a deep maroon dress her way. Sakura's face immediately darkened. At first Sakura was worried that it wouldn't fit around the breasts since Ino was considerably more voluptuous but after seeing the material, it wasn't going to be a problem. It looked like a tight fit. The sweetheart neckline plunged, the hem was dangerously short and the sides were exposed.

"That is not a dress."

"What? Then what is it then, a blouse?"

"No," Sakura said. "That's...that's just fabric. Sown together. Semi-resembling a dress."

"Whatever. You can wear it or not," Ino said while examining her nails.

"What are _you _wearing?"

Ino smiled then held up a purple dress that seemed much, much worse to Sakura.

"Geez, Ino, don't you own clothes?"

.

.

Dinner was a formal affair. The resort's dining hall was very impressive indeed. The girls dressed up, all of them looking noticeably refreshed from their spa treatment. Boys were wearing dress shirts and trousers. Asuma eventually let Sasuke, Naruto and Kiba out of their room arrest to get themselves ready. The prospect of fancy food didn't lighten Sasuke's mood one bit. Girls who were wearing skimpy outfits were blatantly trying to catch his eye. He was trying to avoid Naruto and Kiba since he was still slightly mad at them. Naruto and Kiba were good again after bonding over Kiba's Icha Icha collection. While they laughed and made bawdy jokes, Sasuke busied himself by sulking in a corner.

At the moment, he was trying to find the girls. Normally he would've liked to be alone, but if he didn't find decent company anytime soon he would end up sitting with people he didn't like. Hinata would probably be with Naruto and Ino would've been with Kiba...damn it all. That only left Sakura. He soon caught sight of her. Her back was facing him but she was distinguishable by her crown of pink hair.

"Sakura, is that–whoa."

He said in more of a shock than appreciation. She looked different. Not even like a different version of herself, but like a different person.

"What was that about?" Sakura glared.

He shook his head. "You look different."

Her makeup was applied thickly, but tastefully. Deep, metallic purple eyeshadow was applied to her eyes and enhanced their green colour. Her eyeliner was done in a cat eye shape that tapered into a thin line. Dark mascara lengthened her naturally long lashes to the point that the tips skimmed her eyelids. He found it harder than usual to look away from the pure green of her eyes.

She sighed in near exasperation. "Do I at least look nice? Ino basically tied me to the chair as she caked this stuff on," she said, gesturing to her makeup. "It better be worth the near-torture," she mumbled mostly to herself.

"It's...a change," he said, not knowing what to say in compliment-giving situations. It was true though. Whereas Ino and Hinata always looked presentable everywhere they went, Sakura was always the one with tired eyes and no makeup.

"Well thanks for the reassurance," Sakura said sarcastically. "Some meatheads think I look good though. See that one over there?" She jerked a thumb toward meathead número uno. "He completely budded me in the lunch line two days ago and said_ 'sucks for you har har har' _when he took the last cookie. And right now he totally tried to pick me up! What an idiot! He thinks I'm two different people!"

Sasuke couldn't help but chuckle lowly. Sakura snorted.

"And that's not it. This other pervert was staring me up and down then came up to me and said '_hey, that's a real fine dress on you but it'd look better on my floor.' _Wow, you're really original there buddy! I hate this. I hate this dress, I hate the makeup, I hate these freaking accessories..." Sakura eventually went off into a ramble about all the things she hated, from the print of the tablecloths to the way his hair stuck up. It was easy to ignore. Sasuke's eyes dropped to examine the dress she claimed she wanted to incinerate after the night.

Well damn. It was like once he started he couldn't look away. Her breasts were practically on display for the male gaze to appreciate. Sakura was still focused on her rant and almost didn't notice that Sasuke's gaze had dropped south and was focused on her dangerously low neckline.

"I should have just worn jeans. This is why I don't listen to Ino, this is why I never–Sasuke, are you staring at my boobs?"

"What?" His head shot up. "Of course not."

"Yes, you were. You were _just _staring."

"Sakura, you're imagining things," Sasuke said casually, trying to maintain his cool facade. She didn't notice how the tips of his ears were turning red.

"No I'm not! Honestly, of all people!"

She stomped off to Naruto and Hinata, not caring about ruining their alone time. She started ranting to Hinata about 'how all boys are the same, she really shouldn't have expected anything less, and that Uchiha Sasuke was a total closet pervert who liked to stare at her boobs and ask her for sexual favours.'

Sakura's ranting was loud enough to echo throughout the entire room. Many curious eyes turned to Sasuke and he glared them all away to hide his growing embarrassment.

Naruto erupted into laughter beside Hinata. "The bastard? I knew it, I knew it all along!" he repeated.

Sasuke wanted to groan for the nth time that day.

* * *

And so ends the seventh chapter! Sasuke just wants to go home at this point. Ino is a total SasuSaku shipper who just doesn't know it yet. Naruto and Kiba are being teenage boys. Sakura is prone to extreme moodswings and just wants people to like her.

Next chapter: Shikamaru will make an appearance. People will be mean to Sakura. Ino's catty cheerleading friends will be introduced. (You can put the two together). There will be SasuSaku bonding.

See you next time, (hopefully soon!)


End file.
